Mahou Sensei Negima: The Savior and The Sacrifice
by PaulXion
Summary: Negi and his students are off to face Fate and his army, but even with the might of the magic world at his back it was still uncertain who will win. To secure their victory, the crew sets off to find Nagi, Negi's father. But will it be enough? Negi harem!
1. The Reunion

**Mahou Sensei Negima!**

**Chapter 1: The Reunion**

It was the eve of battle for Negi and his battle maidens. After discovering Fate Tretrum's true purpose and Asuna regaining her memories as the princess of Twilight, everything had been hectic. Fate's original plan was to capture the princess of Twilight and use her to cast a spell which would ultimately remove all source of magic from the entire world, thereby plummeting every major city in the magic kingdom down to the ground. But his plans came to a small plummet when Negi and his students launched an all out assault on his base at the old capital of Ostia.

After clearing their names from the bounty list, Negi and his small band of magical girls enlisted the aid of the mercenary swordsman, Jack, who was also the close friend of his father Nagi Springfield. In time, they convinced the two nations of the magical world to lend their strength in battling the forces of Fate who had eluded them for many years.

Though they were unable to rescue Asuna or capture the leader of their enemies, Negi was able to postpone the day of reckoning by capturing the Tower of Dawn. Without it Fate cannot use the power of the Twilight princess to bring about the destruction of the magic world.

Of course, the young mastermind had every intention of retaking his old home, but he and his followers alone were incapable of dealing with the military force of the magic world. With the armies of two nations warring against him, charging alone with his small band was pretty much a suicide. So to tip the scale of battle in his favor, Fate procured the crown of the princess of Twilight to resurrect the deathless army of the old nation.

When Negi learned of his intentions, he tried to stop Fate, but failed due to his students being in danger.

And with the power of a near invincible leader by his side, Fate prepares himself and his loyalists at the White Citadel to march against the armies that once stood against him and his master.

Knowing well that this could be their final battle, Negi decided to add some insurance to the war. So in a desperate (and reluctant) choice, he requested the aid of his master, Evangeline A.K. Mcdowell, the vampire queen, which she agreed wholeheartedly and brought along with her the rest of the crew who were left behind in the human world.

Though the odds were still in Fate's favor, Negi still had more aid to bring. With contacts and friends in many realms, he enlisted the help of both demons and divine beings from different world to stand against this tide. Whether they were dragons that could talk or mermaids that could swim, he asked them all to lend him their strength… to stand together on saving the world from its own end.

When the armies of Negi were finally assembled at the old capital of Ostia, the boy soon learned the whereabouts of his father… Nagi, whose skill and knowledge would just be the key of turning the tide of the war. Even after going through such rigorous training, hard life and death situations and post traumatic events that should never be witnessed by a child of his age, he never once forgot about his original quest of finding his father. And so… in the ruins of the village that where they first met in six years ago… they meet once more…

**(Negi's burnt village)**

"Dad…?" that was the only word to escape Negi's lips when he saw his father sitting atop the ruins of his old house. He was indeed a splitting image of him ten years from now and he seemed to have grown a mustache during his time away. For many years he had been searching for his old man and to find him at the place where he started was pretty ironic to say the least. He was standing there along with Jack and Takahashi sensei who arrived not long ago with Evangeline to lend some strength to Negi's cause. The rest of the girls were at the back near Paru's (Haruna Saotome) private second hand ship.

After the word was said, Nagi stood up from his sitting position with that ridiculous smile on his face. "Hey there… Negi-boyo" he replied. "Long time no see" he stepped down and walked closer to his son, looking at his face which was almost driven to tears. "Hey Takahashi, you grew a beard"

"Hehe… nice to see you too" was the old professor's reply. "I see you also grew a mustache. Too bad you shaved it"

"Hehehehe… yeah, it was kinda itchy when it grew out" Nagi smiled childishly before turning to his long time rival Jack. "Hey there Jack. Got any better since we last spared in Ostia?"

"Of course I have! What do you I was doing for the past six years when you were gone!?"

"Oh I don't know. Picking up a few women, over charging your customers, stealing panties from the girl college dorm. I can go on all day"

"Grr… cocky bastard" the master swordsman cursed.

"Dad…" Negi spoke up again finally after a moment of silence. "Is it… really… you?"

The man rubbed the boy's head and give out a thumbs up. "Yeah… it's me kiddo. Although I didn't expect to see you here of all places"

"Dad…" Negi could not explain how he was feeling at the moment. His heart was pounding really fast and his bones were shaking from within his skin. Back then when he first came to Mahora academy, he always told himself that he was going to give his father one giant embrace to make up for lost time. But now… after seeing him in person… all those thoughts just seemed to have… washed away with the flow of time. He lowered his head and let out a stream of tears fall down his eyes.

Far at the back, Ayaka Yukihiro (class rep) and the other girls saw the whole drama scene unfold before their eyes. Though they were expecting a more tear jerking reunion scene they were still glad that Negi was finally reunited with her father. Heck, even Kazumi Asakura was taking a few pictures as memento of this beautiful moment. "(sniff) What a beautiful sight. (sniff) No background screen or any picture of Mt. Fuji would ever be able to compare with this!"

"I agree" Haruna, the manga artist of Negi club nodded in agreement with tears starting to form around her eyes. "I want to pain this scene so bad… but I can't see with all these tears in my eyes (sniff)"

"Hmm… congratulations… Negi bozu" Kaede, the kunoichi of the Negima club nodded proudly along with Ku Fei with tears forming around the corner of their eye lids. "You deserve happiness amongst everyone here"

"Yeah… I agree" Ku Fei smiled. "Congrats Negi…"

"Tch… such a sappy moment" Chisame, the web surfer stated with her usual ticked off voice. "I can't believe they would cry at something so… obvious" she quickly looked away from the gang and removed her eye glasses to clean the small drip of water that appeared on its lens.

But just when all of them were crying to their hearts content, a sudden sadistic chuckle emanated from Ayaka who grew a sly grin on her face. "Hehehehe… you all know what this all means. Right girls?" they all gave her a quizzical look. "Now that Negi's father is here, we can start playing our cards right for once. If we can get close to Negi's dad, think of the possibilities! After I tell him how good I took care of Negi during his classes he'll certainly recommend me for an Omai (marriage interview)"

The other girls shook the class rep's plan to monopolize the situation in her favor. But she was right though. If Negi loves his father that much, it was certain that whoever that old man picks will earn major points with the child-teacher.

"Wow! Class rep, you're a genius!" the others thought similar ideas and began preparing to unleash their cuteness to the Thousand Masters. But just as they looked at Negi's tears… they thought that it would be best that they leave the boy with his dad just for today.

The rushing emotions swelled within Negi as he felt his father's soft comforting hand touch the fabrication of his head. The warmth and caring hold of his father was far beyond anything he could've hoped for. For the first time in many years, the boy actually felt… happy. But that happiness came to a quick end when another emotion mixed within his heart.

Hatred…

Anger…

Wrath…

It was because of his father his village was destroyed. It was because of him, that he had to become what he was now: A child-demon-half vampire-swordsman-dark mage with enough power to rival god himself if given time to hone his skills. What was supposed to be learned and trained for decades to reach perfection, the boy mastered it in just weeks and even improved it with his own unique abilities. But not only that. His body itself had changed dramatically. Every piece of flesh he had on him was burnt, torn, cut, ripped and even obliterated into atoms. To compensate for his lost… he gave up his own flesh and blood and modified it both magically and technologically to surpass even the demigods of the unknown realms.

And all of this… was because of his determination to find his father, the man who was responsible for all of this.

And so… with a move that surprised even the unmovable-calm Takamichi Takahata sensei, Negi punched his father right at the face making everyone except Jack Rakan to gawk in awe and surprise.

"Erghh…" Nagi placed his hand on his swollen cheek and looked back at his son who was emitting a strong aura of negativity. "Heh… I guess this was to be expected" he muttered before dashing away before Negi activated Magia Erebia which gave him a boost in all stats (kinda like an RPG game). When the Thousand Master was in a relatively safe distance, Negi charged at him, making the entire student body tremble in worry.

"Dadddd!!!" and without warning, the boy unleashed a powerful dark wave through his body, slamming it against the ruins of his old home. Nagi was able to dodge it but Negi didn't look like he was even getting started "Lucalatio Fulgoris! (lightning spears)"

"What the?! Negi!" Takahata was about to interrupt when Rakan placed one of his blade up his throat.

"Don't interfere" the legendary mercenary boldly stated to his old comrade of the 'Crimson Wing'. "This battle is Negi's and his dad. If you move one more inch, I'll have to kill you"

"Jack!?"

"Don't get me wrong Takahata" Jack smirked. "I'm only doing this because Negi paid me a good sum to do so"

"Paid you?"

"Yeah… somehow he knew that this was going to happen and that he wouldn't be able to control himself when he does meet his old man" Rakan slowly moved his blade away and turned his eyes towards the fight that was getting intense. "Well now… why don't we sit down and enjoy the show? I have a feeling that this fight is going to be pretty darn long" he then pulled out three bottles of sa-ke (Japanese liquor) which was delivered to the magic world by Negi as payment for his services. "Hmm… they were right. Drinks from the other world taste better when drinking it on this side of the galaxy"

"Hey hey! Rakan old chum!" Chamo, the faithful ermine of Negi appeared on his shoulder. "Is this the thing you were talking about? That darkness in his heart or something?"

"Yeah… and it looks like he's finally opened up his heart. Just like Evangeline said it would" he sighed. "If she's right… then this is the only way to bring the light back into his soul"

"His soul?" Takamichi questioned.

"I'm surprised you haven't seen it old friend" the swordsman smirked again before pouring a cup of liquor onto his shot glass. "Well… soul reading was never really your specialty anyway"

"Is something wrong with Negi's soul?"

"It's been consumed by darkness" Rakan explained calmly. "After years of accumulating all those hatred of his old man hidden behind his heart, he finally got the chance to let it all out. He kept saying that he wanted to find his father just so they could be together, but of course a young kid like him would never understand why he really wanted to find him. He kept telling himself that phrase for so long he began to think that it was the truth. Now… he finally gets to release everything. Who knows… they might even kill each other"

"Rakan-dono!" Konoka Konoe and the other girls from Mahora quickly came by after their master delivered the first blow to his own father. "What's going on!? Why is Negi fighting with his dad!?"

"Was it some kind of argument!?" Ku Fei asked. "Did they have a fight?"

"Oi old man!" Kotaro Inugami, the half breed werewolf showed up as well. "What the hell is going on!? You seem to know something we don't!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about" he said comically while sipping sa-ke. "It's probably a family thing. I wouldn't interrupt them if I were you. Just sit back and relax. They'll probably be done in a few hours"

"But…"

"Byakuraishou!!! (white lightning fist!)" Negi yelled out from an old chimney. His father was able to block it, but in doing so he seemed to have absorbed some of the damage.

"Damn… he got a lot stronger than I expected" was the Thousand Master's thoughts. "I heard that he went through some tough training but what kind of monster would make him into a living weapon?" he was then caught by surprise when Negi pulled out HIS staff (which originally belonged to Nagi but you know what I mean) and cast several lightning bolts from its tip. "Whoa… that was a close one"

"Dextra Emittam! (Judgment spear!)" Negi continued his relentless attack giving his father no time to recover or set up a proper defense. "HAAAAAA!!!!!" with a punch of one of his most powerful attacks, the town plaza where he used to play in when he was a child turned to dust. "You're not getting away!"

"Getting away?" his old man laughed a little nervous of his only son's anger. "I'm having a hard time just trying to block your attacks!" but his humor was cut short when he felt a sharp movement pass through his left cheek. "What the?" and then he was even more surprised when he realized that it was Negi's quick fist that made the attack. A trickle of blood drip from that wound but Nagi only licked it in excitement and slight fear. "Well well… it looks like I'll finally have to get serious" in an instant, the father of the child prodigy activated his powers, giving him immense power boost. "Bring it on, Negi! Show me what you've got!"

"HYAAAAAAAA!!!" with a rush of even more anger raging up inside of him, Negi

"Ohh…" Rakan stated in amazement. "The light coat huh? Haven't seen Nagi use that move in a long while now"

"Yes…" Takahata nodded in agreement. "It improves his defensive abilities by a wide margin, almost making it impossible to harm him with a physical attack. Negi will have to rely on his magical abilities to counter his father's shield"

**(Evangeline's tent)**

Evangeline was waiting at her tent that afternoon along with her cybertronic servants Chachamaru and Chachazero as the rest of the magical world assembled at the ruins of the old long forgotten capital of Comus. The soldiers and mages outside were setting up all kinds of defenses to prevent the enemy from getting through and with an entire legion nearby, they practically made themselves a citadel that could withstand the siege of demons.

As the two of them waited, Evangeline magically made a hologram screen appear in front of her. It was showing the sight of Negi and his father fighting at the base of their home town. "Heh… well whadayaknow… that kid actually got spunk in throwing a punch at his own father like that. I wonder if Nagi will give him a spanking after"

"Umm… Eva-sama" Chachamaru called. "Will Negi be alright? I know that he has become monstrously strong ever since he came to the magical world, but is he strong enough to face the legendary Thousand Masters?"

"Nope" came her quick and honest reply. "The kid may have some talent in his tiny body of his but he an't that strong yet. Besides, with that darkness lingering in his heart, it will be impossible for him to defeat Fate or me. The only ones who truly stand a chance against him and his White Army would be me and Nagi. So just to make sure we have a little advantage, we'll have him as a secondary support. And besides………… boyo still isn't ready"

"Pardon for saying this master, but I will have to disagree" Chachamaru replied earning herself a glare from the vampire. "Negi is far more powerful that you give him credit for. Ever since I saw him here he has done nothing but training and improve techniques that I thought were impossible to modify. He doesn't only have talent master… he has the gift of a hero. The only difference between the two of you is that he knows how to restrain his own powers"

Eva only starred back at her with a silent face. It wasn't the first time that the android talked back to her at such a manner. Ever since Negi taught her how to truly feel, she had been more talkative and usually questions everything that she does. But the vampress ignored it and slowly poured herself a bottle of the finest English wine. "And because of that Chachamaru… is the reason why he is not ready. (Huh?) You say that he restrain his powers which means that he does not go full force even during a life and death situation. If he faces Fate with only ¾ of his true fighting power than he is doomed to fail"

"Then why did you send him to find his father if you knew that he would eventually fall to his might?"

"It's the only way to clear his soul again" Eva explained. "Right now his soul and heart are tainted by the power of darkness. It has consumed him, making him an entity that reflects upon his inner self. His thoughts are consumed by pure hatred and anger… all the negative energy. It flows in his body like his own blood and if it's not dealt with then he will become…… something… terrifying"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Earth gargoyle!" Nagi summoned out several gargoyle-like beasts from the earth and sent them to attack. But Negi simply pounded them with his fists, shattering them back to the earth where they were born. "Wow son, you really outdid yourself this time. Gargoyles are high magical-level creatures and you took them out with a single punch. But let's see how you deal with an air elemental!" with a wave of his hand, a gust of win formed onto his palm, then creating a creature made purely out of thin air.

"Hmph…" Negi let out grunt and slowly conjured another attack. He knew that physical attacks would only go through an air elemental and only magic attacks can harm it. "The ground shakes and the earth will boil! I call upon the fires of hell itself! Inferno!"

Scientifically proven: Fire consumes air…

With a blaze of fire appearing out of the open the air elemental let out a scream of pain before vanishing into thin air.

"Simple beasts of the elements won't work on me dad. I have studied them far too long to be fooled by their bodies. Fight me one on one right now"

"Hmm… looks like sending out small fries to fight you will only turn to ashes" he grinned. "Why don't you bring your Pactio partners up here to fight? Which of those girls over there are your partners? It'll be much more interesting if there was someone to watch your back. Hey Jack, can you send one of Negi's partners up here?"

"Which one?"

"I don't know. Which of them have made a Pactio?"

"All of them"

Negi grew out a mother of all sweat drops as he looked at the numbers of beautiful and not to mention hot gals his son had been spending time with. He heard that he had made a handful of partners but counting the numbers by the row he became slightly jealous of his son. "You've got to be kidding" he mentally snickered to call his son a pervy-mage soon after this battle was done. If he survives at all that is. "Man Negi, you really…" he was cut off when Negi fired out another lightning bolt from his hand, crashing against the earth like a titan's hammer through rock. "Eghh! Now that one was close"

"The time for words is over father…" Negi stated coldly at him, "Now come at me or die!"

"Damn… looks like I really have to get serious" Nagi mentally cursed for being careless on that last move. His war-torn cloak was burnt slightly on the edges but left Nagi unharmed. "Alright boyo. After we're done here I am so going to ground you" and by the time he stood from his sitting position, a white aura emanated from his body, banishing all the darkness from the village. From afar it seemed to be another battle between two powerful mages but from the class 3-A's POV it seemed more than just a battle between father and son. From Rakan's sight, it was a battle between light and darkness.

"Oh boy… this really was the best time to bring sushi" the swordsman grinned as be brought out a whole basket full of sushi. "Hey anyone else want some? There's plenty where that came from"

"HOW CAN YOU BE EATING AT A TIME LIKE THISSSS!!!!?" Chisame yelled out. "This is serious Rakan! If we don't stop them from battling right now, they might actually kill each other!" she was grabbing the man's shirt and dangling it back and forth making him spill his shot glass.

"Now now kids. It's just some harmless training. I don't think they'll be that badly injured" Jack yawned out before pouring himself another glass. "I'd say a few broken ribs, a disjointed arm, several internal bleedings and fractured limbs would be enough to make them stop"

"Capturing cube!" Negi cast out capturing his father in a cube space. "Capture complete!"

"Not bad boyo, but this simple magic isn't going to hold the Thousand Masters" with a flex of his muscles, the cube broke into fragments of magic, then evaporating in the air. "Now's my turn! Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine magical arrows!" the sky itself was literally filled with thousands of magical arrows. It covered the horizon so vastly that it made the clouds disappear into nothingness. "Try and hold this Negi!"

"Divine Guardian!" Negi summoned out a magical beast the shape of a shield. The arrows launched onto it and simply bounced off vanishing into pure magic. "EVOCATIO SPIRITUALIS DE SEPTENDECIM VALCYRIIS MORTIFERIS!!! (The spiritual evocation of the seventeen deadly valkyries!)"

"Whoa! Aniki is going all out on this one!" Chamo said in awe. "That's the same technique he used against Chao back at the school festival! He's not holding any punches!"

"That's some pretty powerful magic you're using boyo" Nagi grinned, "But it's gonna take more than that to take me down! Magic STOP!" the entire audience were completely mortified when they saw how Negi's most powerful wind attack was stopped with just a wave of his father's hands. "Looks like you're gonna have to find a more powerful magic boyo. Because wind magic was also my specialty at your age"

"Tch…" Negi groaned out on the obvious. And without even conjuring a plan he charged out onto his father using every type of martial art he knows onto him. "HAAAA!!" he kicked he punched he twist and turned like a rabbit that knows karate and tekwando at the same time but Nagi managed to read all of his movements.

"Light totem!" the Thousand Masters cast a spell on the ground and suddenly a white pillar appeared creating some kind of aura around itself.

"That's…" Negi quickly halted his attack and dashed away before the barrier aura had a chance to get to him. "A light pillar also known as Light Totem in the far east of the magic world. It was meant to extinguish all dark abilities and weakening the user at same time"

"Heh… I guess all those times spent in that library finally paid off eh boyo?" his father chuckled humorously not taking the situation he was in any serious. "This was the same technique I used to capture Evangeline back in her days. She was so dumb that she actually fell for this old trick like a lion lured by the sight of a steak hahahahaha. This really brings back old memories"

"Oh yeah…" Rakan tapped his hands together after remembering how the young master managed to capture the queen of darkness with his own bear hands. "I knew I saw that technique before back the old days"

**(Evangeline's tent)**

Evangeline heard everything that the Thousand Master said and gritted her teeth in comical anger. She remembered that technique well and had experienced that power first hand. "Grrr! You baka! Just because you beat me once you have the guts to gloat about it to your own son! Just wait till we meet again, I'll personally rip that mouth out of your face!" she thrashed her own room sending out a major killing intent, making the nearby soldiers avoid her tent.

Chachamaru however could only sit back and look at the situation unfold. But as the battle raged on, she couldn't help but allow her circuitries to worry about Negi. "Negi-sensei…" she muttered just enough for Chachazero to hear. "Please be safe"

"Ooooooooh…" Chachazero snickered. "Looks like someone with bolt has a crush on the young teacher!"

"Huh?!" Chachamaru grew out a blush. "What are you talking about?!" and just as she turned to her little sister like doll, she felt something hacking into her computer mainframe.

"Hmm… what's this?" the little doll smiled evilly. "A whole file with pictures of a certain you know…" she was unable to finish when Chachamaru unconsciously kicked her out of the tent like an American football on the eve of its game. Luckily Evangeline was more focused on the video screen to understand what's been going on behind her. Chachamaru sighed and quickly decided to put on a mental lock in her system to prevent anymore online hacking.

**(Negi's ruined village)**

The battle raged as Negi fought against his father in that village. They continued to pour down attacks on each other not holding anything back. But with each attack they dished out, the landscape began to change like it was being molded by the hands of god itself.

The Negima club wanted to join in the fight too but with Jack giving them the 'look' every few seconds they could only say that they would be a hindrance with a battle like this. Hell, even the whole group wouldn't be enough to even begin to compare with his magical powers and fighting skill.

"This… this is…" Setsuna gulped as she couldn't believe what was unfolding before her. "This is incredible. I knew that Negi sensei became stronger during his training outside the magic realm and gained more power in the demon plains, but this is just… too much even for me"

"Yeah… I agree with you degozaru" Kaede nodded worried about how powerful Negi had become. During his travels with them he had only been showing fractions of his true power his he last encounter Fate thinking that he would only save his full power for a worthy opponent like him. Kaede and Ku Fei also wanted to see what the boy was like in one hundred percent, but after witnessing his strength now, they could feel a slight tingle run down their spine. "Man… just watching the battle from here… already makes my skin crawl"

"I see that" Ku Fei nodded. Even though she knew that there wasn't gonna chance in hell where Negi would use that power to harm his students it didn't mean that he was already powerful enough to take them all down with just a swing of his staff. "I guess all that training in the other realms made him into this"

"Ice javelin!" Nagi cried off shooting a volley of huge ice shards at his son.

"Incinerate!" but the boy simply used a powerful fire spell to melt them all away. "My turn! Darkness consumes all light and all life itself. Come unto me and take life away! Darkness orb!" a black ball soon appeared atop of Negi's head. "Take this!!"

Chisame gasped. "Is he kidding!? That spell is meant to kill an opponent in an instant! How could he use something like that against his own father!?" he turned to Rakan to see if he budged an inch yet, but instead he only seemed to have finished half the sa-ke he was given. "Rakan, do something!"

"I don't wanna" came his bored reply.

Chisame gritted her teeth in anger. Unable to take this heated battle any longer she summoned out her artifact and prepared to go into battle. "Damn it! I'm going in!" but she was stopped when a blade appeared before he face. "Huh?"

"Hey hey hey… little lady" Jack groaned annoyingly. "Do you think it's good to interfere with family argument? Just leave those two be and relax. Besides, I've been hired to keep you guys out of the fight. So I'm begging ya… don't make me work for my payment"

"Light totem!" Nagi cast another pillar of light from the ground, destroying the dark orb and consuming its own powers to energy. "Wow boyo… looks like you really aren't holding any punches back huh?"

"Hmph…" and with that the fight continued with neither side holding anything back at all. Nagi began taking the fight seriously, but strangely enough he seemed to be the one playing on defense while Negi continued with his attacks relentlessly breaking every building in the process. This went on for about ten or so minutes and even with that short span of time, the earth around the village seemed to have change significantly. None of the terrains were recognizable anymore and the river that flowed freely was now clogged by a giant boulder that somehow appeared within the battle.

The Thousand Master continuously made those light pillars around the village and before the gang knew it, there were already about two dozen of them surrounding the village consuming all dark energy and converting it into light, providing Nagi with more than enough power to beat the crap out of his own son.

"Heh… looks like you discovered my plan a long time ago eh boyo?" he stopped his defensive stance and noticed that Negi was doing the same.

"Yes… creating these light totems around the village, limiting my movements" he analyzed almost instantly his surroundings with just a single glance. "But not only that. Every time I use my dark energy or any dark spell onto you, it will immediately consume its magical energies and convert it to your own. It's an amazing tactic that even I cannot possibly stop even with the limited amount of space already"

"Heh… wow… using these big words makes it hard to believe that you're just 10 years old" Nagi let out a sigh. "Well it was great to know that you've gotten a lot stronger. But since we don't exactly have much time, I'm gonna have to end the battle right here" he then waved his hand around like he was about to cast a spell. Negi took up a defensive stance and prepared for the worst. "I'm sorry Negi, but your heart is just too polluted right now… and know that this will hurt me far more than it will hurt you"

"What!?"

"Light totem: The City of the Sun!!" with his palm on the ground, the light pillars that Nagi summoned out earlier began to shine and began expanding their barrier radius. "With this, I shall consume all the darkness within you Negi!"

Negi was unable to create a defensive plan against such a powerful attack and before he could even react, the light soon surrounded him, consuming all the negative energy within his body. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

"Negi!" that was the last straw for the girls of class 3-A. Seeing their loved teacher screaming in pain was too much even for them to bear. By the time the boy shrieked they all called out their Pactio artifacts and charged in to battle.

"Damn it!" Setsuna was the first to attack. "I can't take this anymore!" she drew out her two katanas and dashed in, only to be stopped when a hundred blades dropped in from the sky. "What the!?"

"Tch… I don't really like fighting girls with my own strength" Rakan grumbled as he pulled out his weapon. "But if you guys are going to interfere, then I guess I'll have no other choice but to fight you"

"Get out of our way Rakan-san!" Setsuna barked at him. "If you do not then I will have no other choice but to fight you!"

"Yeah!" Ku Fei added with the same determination to get Negi out of that barrier even if it cost her, her life. "I know that Negi asked you to keep us out, but I'm not gonna sit by and watch him be in pain like that!"

Again, Rakan only groaned out. He knew that he would stand no chance against the might of the full Negima club when they're this determined. He could probably hold them off for about five or so minutes but he didn't know that if that would be enough time for Nagi to complete his task. "Man… this blows. I guess I should've charged more sa-ke from Negi. Five bottles were definitely not enough to keep me amused" but then he was surprised to see Takamichi stand beside him. "Oh…?"

"Looks like this battle is a little uneven" Takahata smiled slightly. "Mind if I help you?"

"Takahata sensei!?" the students yelled in horror.

"Hey, don't expect me to pay you or anything Takamichi" Rakan joked. "I could hold them off myself"

"Don't worry. I'm not doing this for you" Takahata replied. "This is for old time's sake and I know these students better than you Jack. They aren't to be taken lightly even if they look young"

"_Darn it…"_ Setsuna gritted her teeth. _"If it was just Rakan, maybe we would've stood a chance, but now that Takahata sensei is here we might be in for some trouble"_ seeing that this battle was going on a hay sack, she quickly turned to her companions to make a battle strategy. "Ku Fei dono, you take Nodoka, Yue and Haruna san and hold off Takahata sensei. (Hai!) Chisame san, you take the rest of the students and hold off Rakan san while Kaede and I go and rescue Negi! (Yokai)" she looked like a commander of the entire Negima military club or something like that. "Is everyone ready!?"

"Ready!"

"Then let's go!" and with a dash, the entire party launched themselves against the Crimson Wing, unleashing their power against the two war heroes of the magical world. Ku Fei had never battled Takahata before but after seeing his fight against Negi, she could somehow react to the enemy's attack. And with Nodoka and Yue on her side, she had backup from both long range attacks and intelligence support. Not only that but she also had Haruna to provide whatever reinforcement she needed.

Afterwards, the rest of the class 3-A began attacking Rakan, dishing out their attacks like they were actually trying to kill him. Mana, the magical firearm expert of the mortal world took out her M16 A2 and emptied her clip faster than a dog could reach a steak in ten seconds.

"Good work Mana! Now back off" Chisame ordered to which the gunner complied. "Now Fuuka, Fumika, attack! Kazumi, you provide long range attacks and support Konoka while she heals the wounded. (Roger!) Zazie and Sakurako prepare for the next attack" with her tactical knowledge of war, she became the strategist of the fight against Rakan, pulling out every offensive maneuver she could think of. "Akira and Misora you two will be the second attack after the next one hits! (Roger!)"

"Heh… not bad" Jack grinned as he deflected their magical and physical attacks with his swords. "I almost forgot how good you guys were. Almost feels like I'm actually fighting with my life on the line here"

Takahata could only nod in agreement. The students were indeed powerful and with their combined strength, he actually had to get serious just to hold them off.

Seeing an opening in their line of defense, Chisame raised the signal for the strike team to move in. "Alright, the way is clear! Kaede, Setsuna… go!"

"Right!" and with that signal they charged in. But of course Takahata saw this and quickly used a teleportation magic to move instantly in front of them. "Wha?" Setsuna gasped.

"Tch…" Chisame gritted her teeth. "As expected of Takahata sensei"

"Sorry about this Setsuna, Kaede" the white teacher apologized. "But I cannot allow you to interfere" and so with a strike of his palm, he fired a powerful beam, blasting the two students away like rocks. But his eyes suddenly widened when he noticed the two of them only turned into clay dolls. "Huh?!"

"Mwahahahahahaha!" Haruna the manga artist laughed hysterically. "No one can tell the difference in my drawings! I even managed to fool the almighty great Takimichi Takahata sensei! Mwahahahaha! (pause) Wait… I'm gonna get detention for this aren't I?" Oh yeah…

Meanwhile on the other side of the battlefield.

"Just what you would expect from Chisame san" Setsuna smirked. "To fool both Rakan and Jack with Saotome's dolls and creating chaos with that battle, it almost feels like she's the strategist of the entire operation here"

"Yeah… maybe in the future Chisame would run a whole army all to herself" Kaede nodded in agreement as they could already imagine Chisame leading thousands of soldiers on an invasion to whichever country she wanted. Hell if she was powerful enough, she could a country of her own and rule the world with her tactical knowledge. After thinking about that now, the two students of Negi let out a sweat drop. "Hmm… maybe we shouldn't recommend that job for her de gozaru"

"Yeah… it sounds all too real" but just as they finally made it to the center of the village where Negi was, the immediately stopped knowing well that if they get caught in the radius of the pillar they would get sucked in as well. "This is it"

"And there's Negi" Kaede pointed to the small figure struggling to stand up at the center of the ruined village. He was still screaming in pain and the pillars seems like they were still draining the darkness out of him. "Negi!"

"Wait Kaede dono" Setsuna stopped her. "If we go any closer, we'll only get trapped inside that magical shield. We need a way to weaken the shield first before we get any closer!" the kunoichi nodded and paused, allowing Setsuna to continue. "Let's try by destroying that pillar over there" she gestured to one of the light totems that Nagi summoned out during the battle. Using her artifact, the samurai girl shot out several knives from the air, damaging the pillar. The radius of the light city weakened. "Yes! It looks like this is working!"

"Alright de gozaru!" Kaede quickly took out several old bombs from her hidden pockets and threw it at the pillar destroying it completely. And just as they expected, a portion of the barrier disappeared. "Ok, I don't have enough grenades to destroy every pillar but if we time it right and choose the one nearest, we'll be able to free Negi bozu"

"Right… but we have to be careful" the samurai girl said, observing every inch of the barrier. "If we get too close, we'll lose our Pactio powers since all of the artifact's energy drains a bit his strength" again they let out another attack on another nearby pillar destroying it within a millisecond. But before they could move on to the next, Kaede suddenly felt a teleportation magic occur behind them so as reflex she took out her kunai and went into a combat stance.

"Setsuna, behind you!"

To their amazement, it was none other than Nagi, the Thousand Master himself. "Yo…" he said in a cool comedic tone. "Ahh… you must be Kaede san and Setsuna san from Mahora academy. It's an honor to finally meet you girls in person. Wow… you're just like how you look like in the pictures Takahata sent me. Oh… and I see you have Pactio cards with you then that could only mean that you both kissed my little boyo"

"Nagi!" Setsuna barked as she unsheathed her weapons from its scabbards.

"Ah… Setsuna san, it came to my attention that you were the one who taught Negi how to fight and became his regular sparring partner on daily basis" Nagi smiled with a lot of happy go lucky attitude in his words. "For that you have my gratitude. I wouldn't have been able to teach him that if he wasn't so determined. I guess women really are the best teachers on earth after all ahehehehehehehehe"

"Uh… your welcome?" Setsuna didn't really know what to say to the father of her teacher. She was expecting a fight but to have him casually talk to her like nothing was a problem felt a little awkward.

"Oh and Kaede san, I also have to thank you for taking care of my boyo when he was down. He can really be a handful at times but I guess he is only a kid after all"

Kaede would've blushed if the conversation they were in was casual, but as a master of stealth and espionage she could see through his words and laugh that they were all nothing but a good stage act. "It's a pleasure Nagi dono de gozaru. I wouldn't have done it any other way. But I'm afraid that your strategy ends here. You cannot hope to stall us with your words. I demand that you lower the barrier right now and release Negi now" Setsuna noticed this and quickly returned to her combat stance when she realized that her guard was down.

But Nagi only returned to them… a smile. "Ah… I guess I forgot that my charisma doesn't work well on women who are already taken" he let out a sigh seeing that all the pretty women in Negi's class were all taken. "But unfortunately I'm afraid I cannot do that for it is beyond my power"

"And why not?"

"I know my actions may look cruel and inhumane, but I assure you that this is for Negi's best intention. Perhaps a young one such as you and your friends cannot understand and I understand that you are furious to see your teacher in such pain. But I know Negi better than anyone. Sure I might not have seen him in person, but I can tell that from Takahata and my other sources that he had gone through many hardships in an attempt to find me"

"Then if you understand us then let down the barrier Nagi dono" Kaede demanded whose weapon was already in a position to strike. "If you will not then stand down and we will take it down ourselves. We have the power and skill to do it"

"I have no doubt that you do Kaede san, but like I said before… I cannot do that" was his sudden cold and sad reply. "I'll be honest you two. I did not intend for Negi to look for me. In fact I planned for him to live a normal life with his cousin back in Wales on earth in England for the rest of his days. I wanted him to grow up freely without any regret. But when that event happened… I think his stars changed"

"His stars?"

"Yes… I saw it myself" he looked to the sky and noticed that the stars were already starting to glitter above. "When I fended off the demons in his village, I saw the stars themselves change and his future. I only thought of fending off those demons and escape without anyone noticing, but then… this happened" he looked at them for a minute returning a smile. "Negi was born great but his ambition and goals were indeed too great. Because of this, the darkness in his heart grew and became the roots of his own powers"

"What?!"

"You might not have noticed this since you're all linked by the Pactio cards that you carry. But in truth, Negi's powers are now being fueled by an evil source. After each battle that you went through, that darkness was groomed and raised to such a level that would make even Evangeline look like kindergarten bully. If I allowed this to continue, then he will turn just to be like The Mage of Beginning or as they call him… the Life Maker"

"You mean that sorcerer that you defeated back during the war?" Kaede inquired to which Nagi nodded.

"Yes… but to be more honest… I didn't truly defeated him"

Both students' eyes widened. "What do you mean?" Setsuna asked. "We saw the video from Rakan and saw how you managed to defeat him even with your levels widely different"

"Yes… we were on totally different levels and as they all expected… I stood no chance against that monster. In the end I was defeated even after I used every magical spell and strength I knew and had"

"Then… the Life Maker is still alive?"

"No… he's dead all right. But in truth… he killed himself (huh?!) The Life Maker was just like Negi, a person who would do anything to become stronger. If he wanted to… he could've just wiped me off the face of the earth with just a swing of his hand. But when I was at my last breath, the last tiny bit of humanity in him took over and that gave me the time to strike. (long pause) So you see… I'm not really a hero. I'm just a guy who won because of a lucky shot ahehehehe"

"So then this is why you're doing this?" Setsuna barked. "To prevent another Maker of Life from existing?"

"Yes… and since you've seen what The Mage of Beginning is capable of, you know why that I had to do this"

The two students paused in fear as for the first time in their lives, they were actually conflicted on what to actually do. Negi was behind them inside a powerful barrier groaning and screaming in pain and Nagi, the Thousand Master was in front of them, telling about the whole truth. They really weren't given a lot of choices and all the options looked pretty bad. If they complied with Nagi and stand down, they prevent the creation of another Life Maker and save the world from a future disaster. If they didn't comply and fight, they can rescue Negi from his torment, but risk future destruction of thousands of lives.

After a short pause of thinking, Kaede suddenly noticed something changed in Setsuna's eyes as she turned to the boy who was screaming in pain. It wasn't the look of a worried friend or the caring eyes of a teacher… but something deeper……… like the look of a worried love. "Setsuna… san?"

"Nagi dono" Setsuna stated trying hard to hold the tears that were falling, gripping tightly on her katana. "No… Thousand Master I believe you are called in this world. You are right about one thing. We are indeed young and we do not understand what is happening in this world. I do not truly understand what or why you are doing this to your own flesh and blood, but to actually do this with no regret is too cruel even for a father. But when I made a Pactio with your son Negi, I swore an oath to aid him with all my power. By the time every girl in class 3-A understood Negi's story… they all made a promise with themselves: To never cause harm to Negi ever again. I stake my name as a Protector of Konoka for this! For the honor of each and every last one of my friends… I will now demand you to stand down… or face the wrath of my sword!" she pointed her sword at the Thousand Master even knowing that there was not a chance in hell that she could defeat him.

"For Setsuna to lose her composure like this… it's amazing…" Kaede could feel the anger rushing through the samurai's body as she continued.

"You claim to know to know your son, but you are most certainly wrong! You and Takahata have not even the slightest clue what he has faced. The things he has seen for the past year that you have missed made him into someone that even a million of you will pale in comparison. So don't you... or anyone other than Negi's friends dare say that you understand him!"

Nagi could only stare back at the samurai who dared to show her fangs at him even when their power levels are totally different. Her words were deep and the tears in her eyes spelled something far more than he could comprehend. But seeing that nothing was working, he sighed. "Geeze… I guess there's no way to change your minds huh. Oh well… we'll just have to do this the old fashion way"

"Kaede dono" Setsuna called. "I'll handle this. You continue on destroying those pillars"

"Right. Good luck Setsuna de gozaru" but before the kunoichi could hop away, another Nagi appeared behind her. "What the?!"

"Ah ah ahh…" Nagi smirked. "Now I can't let you two do that now can I?"

"Damn…"

**(Negi's mindscape)**

"Ohh…" Negi groaned out to the dark nothingness in his unconscious mind. His body floated in mid air and every corner of his mind was filled with strange shapes and colors that looked like modern art painting. "Where am I?" as the boy opened up his eyes, he squinted by the sight of so many colors. "What are… all these?"

"You should know them" came a voice from behind causing the boy to take a defensive stance. But Negi quickly dropped it when he realized that the man he was talking was wearing a black cloak. "Hello… Negi"

"Uh… hello… who are… you?"

"That is of no importance" he replied almost instantly. He was taller than Negi perhaps three times taller maybe even more. His black cape covered all the parts of his body leaving only a small portion of the mouth exposed to the open air. But even though he could see him, Negi could not feel the man's presence at all. It was as if he was a ghost dangling in mid air. "The important thing in this room now is you"

"Me?" Negi pointed to himself dumbly.

"Yes Negi, you" the cloaked figure replied in a semi-comical tone. "Tell me… what was the last thing you remember before you came here?"

"Well… I was traveling with Takahata sensei and I found all my students and… (gasp) Father!" the boy panicked as he soon remembered his current battle with his father. "What happened? I was trapped in this light and… I saw my students! Setsuna, Kaede, Konoka! Everyone!"

"Ah… it's good to see that your priorities has not changed even after all these months Negi" he shifted his cloak to the side as he continued. "But do not worry. Time in here flows differently than the time in the mortal world"

"Mortal world? Then… I'm dead!?"

The cloaked man was taken back to that phrase. "What!? No no no no! Of course not hahahaha. If you were dead then we wouldn't be here talking right now, would we?. But where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself, I am Siegfried, your conscious and guide to your mind and this place Negi… is your mindscape"

"My mindscape?" Negi was slightly shocked but kept his composure as best he could. "Wait I read something about this when I was in the library studying. When a person is unconscious a portion of their consciousness is secretly transferred to their mind to continue the extended process of the brain. But only a few has ever been conscious in their own minds"

"Wow… I must say that you really are smarter than your father. That old man of yours would still be asking around where this place was" he chuckled letting a hint of humor come through. "But yes you are correct. You are currently conscious in your mind and it is rare to meet my own master awake. It gets pretty lonely here in this hallowed space at first but after looking through your mind, things became quite interesting if I do say so myself. Every event that happened: Konoka and the kidnappers, your future granddaughter Chao Rin Shen and the world tree, and Fate Averncus. A great chain of events happened around you Negi"

"You… you've been watching me?"

"Of course! I am your conscious after all, and seeing your everyday life has not only become my job, but a 24 hour reality TV show for me. Every time you wake up I had to bring out a basket of popcorn and a tank of soda just to past the time. I don't remember the last time I exercised. But enough about that"

"So… right now… I'm unconscious?"

Siegfried nodded. "Yes, that light barrier that your father made took its toll on you and now your body is being drained of every dark energy"

"Then… I guess I… lost…"

"Lost!?" the man raised an imaginary quizzled eye like he was insulted. "HA! Far from it my young master. You haven't even used your most deadly techniques yet"

"My most deadly technique?" the boy looked puzzled to his words and slowly began to sink in what he was saying. "What are you saying? I already used my most powerful moves"

"Sure, you showed him Evangeline's dark magic and you've enhanced it to a far greater power even she would dream to imagine. (pause) But you Negi… possess something that only two has ever experienced: The True Darkness"

"The True Darkness?" he echoed.

"Yes, also known as the power of creation" Negi paused giving a hint for him to continue. "And since we are on that particular topic Negi, why don't we get to the part why you are really here… hmmm?" he shifted his dark cape again and laid down on an invisible chair in the middle of nothing. "I am going to ask you a series of questions Negi and you will answer them with either Yes or No. Is that understood?" the boy simply nodded dumbly not knowing what this was truly all about. "Good… Tell me Negi… do you feel… any hate?"

A small vision of Fate and Nagi appeared in Negi's eyes as he was asked those questions. "Hate? (Siegfried nods) Well… yes… everyone has"

"Good… how about… jealousy?"

A vision of Nodoka and some of the other girls came to him. "Well… maybe a few? But what does this have to do with my…"

"Just answer the questions" he interrupted. "Have you ever felt… sadness or despair?"

The boy's burnt village came next to his vision blinding him with the fires and the hordes of demons laying waste to his town grinning at him devilishly. Negi saw the visions clearer than the others and felt the pain lingered again deep within his heart like a needle striking against his very soul. "Yes…"

"Have you ever felt… weak and powerless?"

Again, Negi's burning village appeared and this time he could see himself trying to fend off the demons with his magic trainee wand. He could feel that moment coming to him again and he remembered how it was like to be like that. To be unable to protect the people that he loved, to be unable to fight back against a being more powerful than you, unable… to do… anything. "Yes…" right after he said that last word, he began to sweat and his body began to shiver like it was both hot and cold at the same time.

"Ahh… what a sad taste it is…"

"But that's all changed now" he interrupted. "I used to feel weak before. But now… I have become stronger and now I have the power to protect those that I love"

Siegfried eyed him questionably as if looking for some hint of false claims or lie. But he found none. "Hmm… I will admit that you truly have grown more powerful, but is it enough? Do you truly think that the power you possess now can truly protect everyone that you care?"

"Yes…… I do…" his answer was stern and full of determination. But alas, it crumbled beneath the grin of the conscious.

"Then you are lying… (huh?)" Negi showed a quizzical look in response to his statement. "If your strength was truly enough to protect your beloved, then the extra Pactio would be unnecessary. A power that needs others to fill in its own flaws is nothing more but a waste of talent"

"B… but as long as we fight together, we can overcome anything. My masters told me that and I that's what I…"

"Been lying to yourself and your students" Siegfried cut him off with a loud thud sound from the colored walls. "Listen to me little one and listen well. Power is everything in the world you live in and power as of now is what you lack the most. (pause) You are weak and because of this you decided to fill in the chinks in your armor with bodies of those you are trying to protect. If you do not believe me, then allow me to show you" with a wave of his hand, the colors on the wall began to merge, making a flashback onto Negi's memories"

He saw the moment when Konoka was being kidnapped by Chigusa Amagasaki and her mercenaries. He saw himself fighting against the demon god Ryōmen Sukuna-no-Kami but was unable to penetrate its shield even with a powerful spell. He enlisted the aid of his students but most of them were petrified due to Fate's magic. After finally realizing that they were no match against the enemy, Evangeline arrived to save the night with her ungodly powers.

After watching the scene played before him, Negi soon realized that some part of the clip showed a good point. He really wasn't powerful enough and he was so weak that he had to have his own master come and fight his battles for him.

"Don't close your eyes just yet" the conscious added, "There's much more that you need to remember…"

This time, the scene changed to when Negi was forced to fight against Chao Rin Shen, his own granddaughter from the future. Though no one was seriously wounded during the fight, it still proved that he still needed the aid of others including Takahata sensei to fight off the enemies. The moment when he battled against Chao atop of the zeppelin, he was forced to unleash all of his power to outmaneuver his opponent's time traveling speed.

"Now this one is probably the best one yet…"

The vision changed and this time, it showed how Negi and his crew were completely devastated by Fate's party during their arrival at the Magical world a few months ago. During that time he truly was unable to fight back against Fate due to his lack of power and skill. He saw Kaede crushed with a single blow by the black mage that attacked and Kotaro badly wounded by the white cape swordswoman. It was not until Asuna destroyed the seal on the chest that held all of his weapons and Pactio cards was he then able to fight back. But even with that in toe, they were still on different levels that day and it was only then Negi realized how weak he truly was.

Siegfried wanted to search another memory and show it to the boy, but he stayed his hands as he noticed a killing feeling behind him. He turned his attention back to Negi and saw him gritting his teeth in anger and balling his fist with rage. "Yes… Negi… I see you understand now" the conscious grinned, "Even after all that training, all those hard work, all those time seeking power. You still remain weak and unable to protect even yourself from harm"

The boy didn't reply. Instead… he just looked at his hand which was still shaking with fear and anger of himself. "I…… I really am still weak after all"

"If you need more proof... then i have one just for you" Negi's eyes widened with horror as Asuna's face appeared before him.

"A... Asuna san!" he tried to grab hold of her, but his body just passed through the mirror image. "Eh?"

The princess of Twilight turned around to face the boy again. Her face filled with sadness and tears dripping down her eyes. "Negi... where are you?"

"A... Asuna!" the boy tried again to reach out to her.

"Why weren't you there for me Negi?" the illusion spoke. "Why didn't you come and save me when I needed you?" the pang of guilt pierced Negi's heart driving his body to go even faster. "Are you not going to rescue me...?"

"Asuna wait! Please, come back! Don't go!" but Asuna kept floating backwards just beyond his reach. Negi struggled again and again just to keep up but soon, she vanished into the darkness leaving the boy behind. "Asuna! Asuna!? Asuna!! ASUNA!!!" he screamed till the top of his lunges like a desperate man.

"Do you want the power to change that Negi?" Siegfried grinned. "The power to finally be able to fight back? The power to protect your love ones? The power to destroy all that would do you harm!?" an uncomfortable silence fills the air around the mindscape of Negi's head making it really hard to breath even for Siegfried. "Answer me Negi!"

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Yes…"

"Do you want the power to protect your beloved!?"

"Yes…!"

"Do you want the power to finally rid yourself of your weakness!?"

"Yes!!"

"Answer me clearly!"

"YES!!!!!!" a blue flame suddenly emerged around Negi's body, melting the colors and painting that made up his very essence. **"I want it!!!"** even Siegfried himself was frightened for a split second when fire incinerated out of no where. He saw the whole mindscape melt within the boy's grasp and now the place that once looked like an art gallery transformed into a hall of horror where the devil himself would gladly call home.

After the last of the colors melted away into oblivion, the cloaked man smiled. "Then I believe you understand…" his voice suddenly became cold and harsh like that you would hear from Darth Vader himself. "The True Darkness… awaits you"

Negi balled his fist again and noticed the flame that consumed him. It strangely did not harm him but it certainly destroyed everything in its path. "The True Darkness, is the power I've always possessed"

"Look Negi..." Siegfried pointed towards the burning village that he had conjured up as an illusion. "Look at the fires that once consumed your home. It burns with so much anger and hatred that it fills your dark magic like gasoline. Take the fire within you and use this anger to burn your enemies! To protect those that you hold dear!" immediately the fire from the village gathered around Negi's fingers, molding into a sickening form of all the hatred of the village. "A word of warning before we part ways Negi" Siegfried hesitantly continued as the fire grew larger by the moment. "Power, no matter how great it is… will always need something in return. For this great power… your own existence will be at risk. At the beginning you will feel nothing, but for too long… you will soon lose every fiber of your known self. Your humanity will dwindle and soon you will be nothing more but a soulless shell. Do you still want this power knowing that it may very well risk your own sanity?"

"Is that is the price I need to pay then I believe it is a bargain" Negi answered in a tone so cold that it would've froze hell itself.

Siegfried smirked. "Then I bid thee… farewell Negi. May peace be waiting for you at the end of your journey" and with that, the whole of Negi's mind was filled with light, bringing him back to the world of the living.

**(Out of Negi's Mindscape)**

"Gahhh!" that was the voice of Kazumi as she was thrown back by Takahata's magical shield. More than half of the class of 3-A were in par with the two veterans of the great war that ensued more than twenty years ago and to their surprise… they were in even grounds. Rakan and Takamichi had to admit that the girls were a lot stronger than they had expected. Back during their days they would be able to handle companies of battleships with barely even lifting a finger, but now only two dozen girls stood against them… and they also had to admit that they still had a slight advantage over them in numbers.

"Paru, I need more weapons!" Mana ordered up to which the manga artist quickly got to work.

"Roger! A cache of guns coming right up!" immediately a large pile of weapons ranging from P90 submachine gun to RPG appeared out of the blues like magic. "Go on Mana! I got unlimited supply of weapons coming your way! No need to worry about ammo either!"

"Hmm…" Takahata gave out a worried face. "I'm amazed how well they work together. With two units acting as the main fighting group, one as a support group supplying the front row with supplies, intelligence and long range attacks and a defense group to protect them"

Nodoka read his words and quickly struck in. "Kotaro, aim for Takahata!"

"Righto!" with the old man still bothered by his thoughts he wasn't able to see the werewolf boy charge at him with a left jab. But luckily he was able to block it with magical shield. "That was close…"

"Too bad for you old man" Kotaro smirked as he suddenly turned into a wolf.

"A decoy!? Then where…?" he wasn't able to finish when he felt a fist made contact with his face sending him towards a boulder near the ruined village. "Eghh… now that hurt" but then quickly Ku Fei came in to combine another attack. "Damn!"

"Hyaa!" the Chinese martial artist let out a flurry of attacks making the old teacher-mage go onto defense. "Sorry sensei, but this is for Negi's sake! Haaa!" with a kick of her feet, she sent the man flying, eating some of the dirt in the process.

Chisame saw this as an opportunity and quickly ordered her soldiers to strike. "Takahata is down, everyone concentrate your fire on him! Support unit, covering fire on Rakan!" The group obeyed her orders to the letter, but sadly Jack was too fast for the support team to pin him down.

"Hey Taka, don't get senile on me now. We still got a battle to win" the mercenary grinned at his old partner as he defended him from the barrage of attacks with his swords. "Though I have to admit, I never expected to see the great Takimichi Takahata fall because of his own students. You've gone soft over the years"

"Hehe… yeah… maybe I have" Takahata chuckled back as he took a cigarette from his pocket. He then noticed that Rakan himself was looking a bit winded after that last attack. "What's wrong old friend? You look a bit winded"

"What are you talking about?" he quickly rubbed the sweat off his brow and noticed that there was some blood on his left cheek. _"Oh… impressive. They were able to wound me after all"_

"Hahaha don't act so surprise, it doesn't suit your face"

"Yeah… but you got to admit: Negi's got himself one fine army of ladies here" they both let out a soft laugh before returning to their combat stance. "Maybe when this is over, I wonder if he'll share any of them with me when he grows up" it was a good things the girls didn't hear that or else they would've given him a pounding of a life time by now.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile on the other side of the field, Kaede and Setsuna were struggling for their very lives as they defended themselves against Negi's father's attacks. The man was relentless even against his own son's students who helped him through thick and thin of his entire journey. Kaede tried to sparingly use her grenades so that she could leave some to destroy those light totems that were erected around the area. The two of them put up a good fight, but against the Thousand Master himself… well… let's just say that they stood a far better chance fighting against six magical elemental dragons.

"Damn… I knew something like this would happen" Kaede bent on her knees tired from the fight against her opponent. Setsuna stood guard still, with her sword slightly blunted and her clothes worn from the last attack. "I guess this is as expected… of the Thousand Master"

"Hey now, don't say my title like that, you're embarrassing me ahehehe" Nagi rubbed the back of his head slightly amused. "But I must say that I am impressed. You two lasted a lot longer than I expected. You two must really be strong women from earth"

"Nay…" Setsuna replied still determined to fight. "It was because of Negi sensei that we became this strong. I owe him a lot so I will not back down until every last ounce of my strength is gone!"

"I suggest you save your strength Setsuna san" Nagi said in a strict tone. "The light totems inside the barrier is currently draining all of Negi's powers and transforming it to my own. So even if you could still fight, I would still have plenty of energy to fight off the rest of the others as well. Anyway the process is almost finished. In a few minutes, the light totems will drain all of the negative energy and you'll be free to do whatever you want with him"

"Grr…" Setsuna tried to let out another attack, but her fatigue finally caught up with her as he legs finally gave way to her tired body. Even though she was able to fight for this long, she was still human.

…

…

…

…

"Negi sensei… give me strength" Setsuna prayed on her blade before going to a kill stance. Nagi looked at her confused for a moment, but his eyes suddenly widened when a familiar dark pattern evolved around her body. "That's!" he gasped in shock.

"Magia Erabia!" she casted with a loud yell onto the sky. In an instant, her skin turned black and white marks began appearing on her limbs granting her power of great magnitude. "Here I come!"

**(Evangeline's tent)**

"That brat!!" Eva angrily slammed her wine glass onto Chachazero, smashing it into pieces as she watched Setsuna used one of her most favored moves in front of her eyes. "He actually taught a normal mortal girl that technique without my permission!? Arghhhh!! I am so going to kill him when he gets back!!!" as her yell and shouts became more and more aggressive, the soldiers that were camped outside of her tent quickly moved their beds to another location. Whether it was a cold mountain or a jagged rock cliff, it didn't matter. They just didn't want to be anywhere near Eva's tent when she's enraged.

"Are you alright?" Chachamaru asked to her little counterpart which she only responded with a tilt of her doll head. "Oh… I see…"

**(With Negi)**

The body of Negi Springfield stood still in the middle of the village unharmed, but yet at the same time beaten, like he was slammed to the ground harder than a sledgehammer on an iron block to forge a blade of a great hero. His body was still, lifeless, unmoving as it was trapped within the barrier of the light city draining him of all of his dark energy that he accumulated over the years he had spent lying to himself.

As his body finally regained some of its consciousness, his eyes opened up to the evening sky, the stars glittering at him like they were crying for his pain. He mouth gapped open but no words came through. His hands flexed, but they could not move. His legs twitched but they were too numb to feel anything. And his mind was clouded… making it impossible for him to think clearly of what was happening.

But as the numbness started to flow away, he could feel the pain of his body returning to him. He could feel every inch of his body aching and burning like he was in a sauna bath put into maximum heat. But that pain was merely a scratch compared to the pain he was feeling inside. The moment he came back from his mindscape, the darkness that lingered in the deepest darkest pits of his heart began to surface, causing his negative energy to increase.

Sadness… the sorrow of losing his village…

Fear… the fright of losing his love ones once more…

Hatred… the malice he holds against himself and the people who dared to wrong him…

Anger… the spite of being weak…

And with these emotions finally coming to reality, Negi began to feel both his heart and soul crumbling unto the darkness. He could feel the darkness eating him away and for once in his life, he surrendered to it… he let it go freely, allowing it to consume him turning his body into the ultimate weapon against the light of humanity.

The True Darkness…

'Take your anger, your hatred and your sadness Negi' a voice rung in his head. 'And use its flame to exterminate your enemies!'

"ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" he screamed to the top of his lunges like his own throat was on fire. The Magia Erabia that he casted upon his body to increase both his power and speed began to grow, turning his skin color into a darker shade of black. "Eghaaaaaaaaa!!!!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Negi's scream could be heard from all over the mountains like a dragon's roar that echoed from the top of Wyvern's Hill. The scream was so powerful and so full of hate that it made Takahata and Rakan stop their fighting with the girls of class 3-A.

"Negi…" Konoka could only mutter that name worryingly as she saw the barrier of light consumed by darkness within the village grounds.

"Was this part of the plan too Rakan?" Takahata inquired and to his surprise, Rakan didn't reply at all. Usually by now he would either be giving out a smart comment or doing the 'I don't know and I don't care' face. But right now… he was just… staring… at the barrier that he thought was near impossible to overcome. Takamichi quickly turned to the girls and noticed they too had a more worried expression on their faces. Seeing this, he immediately dropped down his shield and sighed. The girls noticed his sudden movement and returned to their combat stance, but Takahata simply waved them off before saying. "Go…"

"Huh?" they all looked at them slightly puzzled on what he meant by that.

"If this fight continues… we would eventually lose" he explained. "Now go… Negi is probably waiting" the girls hesitantly passed through the two elite mages with their guard still up. They couldn't tell if this was a trick or just another mind game from Takahata. After they were finally away from their combat range they all made a dash for it towards the village.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The clash between Setsuna and Nagi was fierce to say the least. The moment the samurai girl unleashed Magia Erabea, Nagi had went back to defense blocking most of her attacks while receiving a few fast punches to the shoulder and torso. He never expected one of Negi's students to know this black magic other than him and it took him by surprise when she managed to activate it even during a near critical condition.

"_This is crazy!"_ the Thousand Master thought as his sweat glands began to work. _"I thought only Negi could use Magia Erabea. To teach it to one of his students is just pure insanity"_

"Lightning spear!" Setsuna casted to which Nagi managed to dodge but just barely, "One thousand magical arrows!" she connected her attack perfectly, making it almost impossible for him to create a counter attack. "Gack…" she flinched slightly due to the pain caused by the spell. "So this is the side affect Negi sensei was talking about. It really hurts. Gack!" she gritted her teeth tightly as if trying to relieve herself of the pain. "Negi was able to bear with this pain for more than a day. I have to endure it as well! HAAAA!!" she charged again at the Thousand Master, like she was throwing her life away.

Kaede who was still resting on the boulder near the barrier could only watch and stare onto how her partner was giving Nagi a run for his money. She wanted to join in the battle too, but after seeing what Setsuna could do she immediately knew that she would only be a hindrance if she butted in. "Since when did Negi taught her that?" she mused. "(chuckle) I guess this must be the result of that secret training they had together de gozaru" she then slowly got back on her feet and turned towards the barrier with her kunoichi mask on. "Alright… I'd better get to work too. I shouldn't let her fight be in vain. There are still a lot of pillars to topple down"

After a minute of battle had gone by, Nagi finally got himself a foothold near the roof of a destroyed inn of his son's village. "Setsuna san, please stop this at once!" he pleaded to the girl who seemed to be filled with hatred of the man. "Don't you know what that spell is doing to you!? If you keep this up you'll…"

"I know perfectly well what this magic is doing to me!" she answered him with an angry tone, cutting him off. "But what I don't understand is why you are harming your own son like this!?" she fired another lightning spear at him, to which he dodged right away.

"Geeze, you're making me look like the bad guy here" he whined. "How many times do I have to tell you: I'm not your enemy!"

"It doesn't matter who or what you are! Anyone who harms Negi sensei will be my enemy!" she swung her sword just inches away from Nagi's face, cutting a bit of his mustache away. "Hyaaaa!"

By the time the rest of class 3-A (excluding Asuna and Kotaro) arrived on scene they could only stand back and watch as Setsuna unleashes her unspeakable rage on the man who she and her friends had been looking for, for the past few months. Konoka had to admit that she had never seen her childhood friend so angry before. There were times when she was annoyed or pissed off, but the aura samurai-girl was giving out now was just pure utter hatred.

"Whoa… it looks like the rest of boyo's students are here" Nagi noted before he began to mentally count how many girls there were in the group. "Wow… Negi really got himself a nice row of girls here. Kinda makes him look like a mega-playboy in action" but then he was quickly brought out of thought when Setsuna laid another punch onto his shoulder, sending him towards an old ranch near the town. "Oh… man. That really hurts"

"NAGIIII!!!" Setsuna yelled before firing another barrage of daggers from the sky.

"Tch…" Nagi dodged them, but after seeing that the young female warrior would no longer listen to reason, he decided to end this with his next attack. "Looks like she really won't listen to reason anymore. Excaliber!!" a sword made purely out of white magical energy appeared in his hand, sending a surge of power throughout the battlefield.

"Sec-chan!" Konoka called to the young warrior's attention worryingly. "Let us help you!"

"Ojou-sama!" Setsuna replied looking a bit surprised to see everyone there. "Let me handle this! Go and rescue Negi, quickly! He's inside the barrier!"

"But…"

"Please! Hurry!"

The gang quickly followed her orders without hesitation, but when Nagi saw this, he knew right away that he couldn't let them interfere with his plans. So with a quick cast of a spell, he multiplied himself to two dozen copies so that the odds may turn to his favor. "Sorry kids, but I can't allow you to go in there" but then to his surprise, the group hastily unleash every bit of magical powers they had on their bodies to plow him out of their way.

"Ku Fei!" Chisame ordered, "You and Mana help Setsuna while the rest of us go and find Negi!"

"Understood!"

**(Evangeline's tent)**

Eva scowled slightly at the sight of the battle she saw in her magical screen in front of her. After her recent rampage earlier, she finally managed to calm down and grab herself another bottle of wine from the cooler she brought from earth. There were many thoughts going through her head right at that time and they could all be seen through the expression she was giving on her face. She was first annoyed then angry, then pissed and now she was seriously ticked off.

To see Negi's students actually holding against the Thousand Master with their skills that they only had for a few months made her look like a small fry compared to them. She was about four hundred and fifty years old when she first fought Nagi and lost and now his students who were barely more than a decade old, were out matching the man who defeated her all those years ago. But even with her annoyed groan, she still had to admit that Negi really was able to breed a worthy group of powerful warriors by his side. If she had fought against him and these girls together, she was certain that she would lose.

"Another glass…" she ordered Chachamaru who was still cleaning the mess that her mistress made earlier. The android slowly took the trash out and opened the wine cabinet in search of her mistress's taste. "Those brats are unbelievable" Eva added which somehow managed to get Chacha's attention, "They're all acting like a bunch of knights guarding a king on the throne. When the first sign of trouble comes, they're the first and last line of defense for that boyo. Even after all this training, that boy still needs others to change his diapers for him"

Chachamaru heard her spat at Negi's pride like something that came out of the gutter. By then, her heat meter began to increase rapidly. She shifted her hand and grabbed the bottle.

"Hey Chamaru! Another glass!" Eva ordered to which the android angrily obeyed but kept her emotions in check. After sipping the glass empty, the vampire quickly spat out its contents before her throat swallowed it down. "Plehhh!!! What the hell is this!? What happened to the wine!?"

"Oh dear" Chachamaru let out a somewhat sarcastic expression. "I must've accidentally took the bottle of dish-wash instead of the wine. Silly me…"

**(Back at the village)**

Boom…

That was the sound of another pillar tipping down after Kaede launched another bunch of her grenades at it. It crumbled after the explosion went off and with that another portion of the barrier fell. "Phew… this is taking longer than I thought. If I miscalculated just by a tiny bit, it would take another set of bombs to take it down" she quickly took a quick look at her remaining bombs and wondered how much she had used to blow up that last one. "Damn… it looks like that last one took a lot more than I expected de gozaru. If only Paru (Haruna Saotome) were here then I wouldn't need to worry about ammo" as she looked around she began to realize that there was no way to get closer to Negi without taking a dash through the barrier. "Dammit… I just don't have enough" she gritted her teeth together and slowly turned to where her teacher was laying.

She could see him struggling to get up with every ounce of his remaining strength and she could see the pillars that were slowly draining away his powers. The boy looked miserable but the worst part of all for Kaede was that she could not do anything to help him. She could just wait there for help to arrive, but that would take too much time. She could go back and get more explosives from Haruna's airship, but Nagi would probably try to stop her again with another one of his tricks.

"Negi bozu…" she whispered to herself. "What can I do…?"

**(Flashback)**

A few weeks ago after Negi and his party had just recently successfully recruited the aid of the demons from the other realms, the gang was having a party in Paru's ship to celebrate their new alliance. With the demons finally at their side against Fate's near undefeatable army they now stood a snowball chance in hell. There was music, there were drinks and food aplenty for everyone aboard. Some of Negi's students tried to tempt the young teacher to have a little taste of wine, but as obvious as a dog having a tail, he refused. The group partied late on until the night and ate like they had not eaten in weeks. After the music was silenced and the food trays emptied, the only ones who remained awake that dawn was Ku Fei, Kaede and Setsuna who were busily still playing Shogo at that time.

But of course their peaceful post-celebration was rudely interrupted when Tertium (AKA: Fate) decided to ambush their ship with a small battalion of his deathless army. Six battle cruisers attacked them and the golem army boarded their vessel. The battle took place on board the ship's deck at first as the girls had to fight off the Stone-Soldiers that managed to sneak in when everyone was still asleep. After Negi and his Pactio partners repelled the first wave, Haruna quickly took control of the ship again and flew it into the space of floating islands. It was a risky move but with the islands hovering around at an unnoticeable pace, they were able to avoid several cruisers that were chasing them.

After they managed to outmaneuver their enemies, Paru quickly unleashed her ship's powerful weapons. Though they weren't exactly the top class state-of-the-art arsenals, they surely did the job of annihilating their enemies.

"Looks like that's the last of them" Yue and Nodoka let out a sigh of relief as the ship's radar became clean of enemies.

"Mwahahahahahahaha! How do you like that Fate!? These may not be the best weapons in the whole fleet, but they sure pack a whallop!" Paru was so proud of her ship that she began to coo to it which mentally disturbed her other classmates. "Hmm… I wonder if we could bring one of these cannons with us when we face against him. It'll certainly kill him with one blow"

"I don't think any of us are strong enough to carry them Paru-chan" Bookstore girl (AKA: Nodoka) sweat dropped.

"Well in any case" Kazumi interrupted. "It looks like we can call this a complete victory on our side!" the whole gang let out a cheer of joy as they knew well that this was probably their first true victory against Fate after a long string of defeats during their first days here in the magical world.

"Let's party again tonight!" Paru declared raising her fist. "Let's finish the last of the soda we brought from the camp and eat till we drop dead from a burst stomach!" the others let out a yell of agreement.

"NO MORE!!" Ayaka replied annoyingly knowing well that they were just looking for an excuse to party. "It was because of our unbalanced state that got us into that situation in the first place! We are all just going to eat, drink and sleep! Nothing more, nothing less!?"

"Eaaaahh… class rep, you're no fun" the baka rangers whined.

But just as the others were busy celebrating, Setsuna suddenly noticed something appearing just behind one of the floating islands. At first she thought that it was nothing more but another meteor that came from another realm, but then her eyes widened when she quickly realized that it was another one of the enemy's battleships. "Enemy!!" she yelled out, catching everyone's attention. "Paru, turn portside now!"

"I got it!" with a quick turn of the wheel, the entire vessel turned away from the area, but it was not fast enough to dodge the powerful laser that came after it. The side of the ship was completely torn apart and the cargo bay doors were completely melted by the heat. "Ahh! No, our food supply!"

"Does that mean we're not having roast chicken tonight!?"

"I think we have other things to worry about other than food!"

"Paru, the enemy is right in front of us now!" Ako warned.

"And it looks like they're preparing to fire their primary weapon!" Kotaro noted the large amount of magical energy gathering on the main cannon of the enemy's ship.

"Whoa!" the manga artist said in amazement. "That's the Gallion main weapon! The Devastator Mk. III! It can destroy anything within a hundred mile radius! I only heard rumors and stories about it, but I never thought I'd actually get to see one in real life!

"Hey Paru, turn this bucket of bolt around!" Kotaro ordered.

"I can't! The systems are totally fried by that last blow we took!" Yue answered for her.

"Damn it! Then…… I guess… this is… it…" the enemy fired the beam at them with direct precision, but just when all hope seemed lost, Negi sprung out of his hole and created a forcefield so powerful that it deflected the beam away from the ship. "Negi!?"

"Paru!" Chisame called. "Hurry! Fire your missiles at that asteroid near the enemy ship!"

"But what good will that…"

"Just do it!" when the missiles made contact with the asteroid, the big chunk of rock suddenly burst off, destroying the enemy ship along with it.

**(End of flashback)**

"Even knowing that death could linger very well on the next ridge of the land Negi bozu… you still didn't hesitate to throw your own life away to save ours" the ninja lady sighed as she remembered that incident very well. She could recall on how cool Negi looked after the dusk of battle settled that morning. The smoke on his body, the scars on his face and those tinted round glasses that made him look unexpectedly cute. "Eh? AHH! I shouldn't be thinking about this of that bozu" the woman rubbed the back of her head embarrassed of what she was just thinking at the moment. "Besides, I would be in competition with Bookstore girl and the others ahehehehe. That wouldn't be good"

But her humor was quickly thrown away when she heard Negi screamed again and this time with a lot more fury in it. "ARGHHHHHH!!!!!"

"Negi-sensei!!" with her mind now full of worries about the boy, Kaede quickly used her remaining bombs to destroy several more pillars along the way. And without even consulting of her body's own safety and health, she rushed into the barrier that sucked up every dark energy to rescue Negi. "Oryaaaa!!!" as expected, once she was in the perimeter of the barrier, she began to feel her power diminishing like a vacuum cleaner sucking away her strength. Since her magical powers were linked with Negi himself, it was also obvious that her powers had a dark side within them. "Grrr!" She was somewhat amazed on how powerful the pillars were and with one look at them told her that it would require a great deal of magical energy and years of training to actually perfect such a technique.

By the time she reached the boy's body, ¾ of her strength were already gone. But the pain on her body was nothing compared to what she saw next. Negi's face was completely filled with pain and horrifying expressions that she could not even begin to explain. "Negi, don't worry… I'll get you out of here!" He looked back at her with a strange angry look like he was struggling against something inside his own body. But just as Kaede held him up in her arms, she felt the weight of the world crashing down on her. She knew then right away that she would not have enough strength to carry Negi out or even anywhere near the exit point. "Wait… that's it! My Pactio card!" she immediately pulled out the card she shared with Negi and used it to summon the invisible cloak that also doubled as a house inside. After they were safely inside, Kaede quickly let out a sigh of relief. "Phew… that was close. I don't know how long this inter-dimensional field will last, but it should give me enough time to recover my strength"

The secret house of Kaede was probably one of the most useful cards in Negi's team during their adventures around the world during the past few months. Not only was it good for camping out in the cold mountains during a trip to find the ice giants that dwelled within the deepest part of Heaven's Hill, it also provided a safe locale for them to hide in case they were trapped or cornered somewhere with no where left to go. Inside that rag you would find a small Japanese style house with a small garden around it to provide that Feng Shui atmosphere and a little fountain to give the soothing touch. Perhaps it was her motherly side that gave her this kind of card.

After she put Negi on the futon that she prepared, she could see that the boy was still in great pain even after they were out of the light field. He was burning up like he was having some kind of fever and his body twitched and ached every now and then like he was wrestling a beast within his own soul. "Gacckkk!!"

"Negi…" the kunoichi touched the boy's head and compared the temperature to her own. "Damn it… wait here, I'll go and get some cold water"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back outside, Takahata lit up a cigarette on his mouth and puffed out a smoke before lying back at the picnic mattress that Rakan prepared earlier before their battle with the girls. He was lightly wounded as well as Jack himself with only a few cuts and bruises here and there, but on the brighter side, at least they were alive. For some bizarre reason he knew that he would eventually lose to the girls if he had even fought them with full strength. He knew the moment Negi was in trouble, it would be impossible for either him or any mage to stop the girls of class 3-A from charging off to save him.

Not only were they pretty, but they were also powerful and deadly efficient especially with Chisame coordinating the attacks on all points. He quickly made a mental note to himself that he should never get on their bad sides or else there would be hell to pay. After he healed up the last of his wounds Rakan offered him a shot glass with what was left of the sa-ke Negi provided as payment.

"Here… drink up old timer" Jack smirked as he poured another glass for himself. "Alcohol is the best cure for any pain. Both physical and mental"

"Heh… is that what you used to say when you joined us back then?" Takahata accepted the glass and drank its contents down with one gluck sound. "Ahh… this kind of reminds me of the good old days back when we were still running away from the Ostian military army"

"Yeah… fighting for your life on every turn, facing unimaginable odds every second of your life and getting stronger while you're at it too" the swordsman laughed it out. "Yeah… those were the good old days. But now… those kids over there can actually overpower us if they put some effort into it. Maybe when this is all over I might just move to the place where Negi's staying and become a teacher as well"

Takimichi sweatdropped heavily at that point as he could already imagine Rakan becoming a teacher in Mahora academy there giving them all kinds of tips and tricks of the trade that may be useful in the streets of the magical world. It was so frighteningly realistic that it scared him. "Ahehehe… I think you should stick to being a mercenary here instead Jack. But I agree though… those girls really have grown in just a few months"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back in the battle zone, Setsuna, Ku Fei and Mana were duking their strength off against the Thousand Master fighting with every technique they had in their arsenal. Their group was probably one of the most perfect combination in the class and Nagi couldn't have agreed better. Ku Fei being the martial artist leader (AKA: Chairman) was excellent at close combat dishing out blows at close range. Setsuna on the other hand with her swords and lightning fast reflexes provided a medium range attack which often catches Nagi off guard. Mana of course with her large arsenal of guns dished out the long range attacks, providing covering fire for the others.

But the most surprising factor for Nagi is that they were actually keeping up with him. They had already made several close call hits at him and when the two other students joined in, he had to really kick up a notch and get serious for once in a long time.

"One thousand magical arrows!!" Setsuna casted following another wave of her flying daggers.

But Nagi simply blocked it with a ten layer magical shield. "Whoa… these girls really don't fool around, I'm breaking a sweat just blocking them" he was unable to rest or recuperate when Mana unleashed a volley of magic bullets at him. "They're not even giving me a moment of rest either. Man, what kind of girls did boyo bring from the other side of that portal?"

"The rare kind" Ku Fei grinned as she appeared right in front of the man and laid a fist on his face. But her eyes suddenly widened when she realized that it was just a doll clone. "A clone…"

"Ku Fei dono, behind you!"

The young martial artist quickly leaped away before she was struck by the Thousand Master and into safer grounds. "I guess this is to be expected of the Negi's father aru…" but then she noticed that Setsuna was shining with an odd darkish color. "Eh? Setsuna, when did you had a tan!?"

"I'll explain everything later Ku Fei dono, but for now we need to… ackkk…!" the samurai girl crouched down on her knee as the pain suddenly jolted back in. "Darn… the pain is soaring again"

"Setsuna chan!"

"Ku Fei, don't turn your back on the enemy!" Mana quickly unleashed a volley of magic bullets at the Thousand Master to prevent him from attacking.

"It looks like your body has reached its limits" Nagi stated to Setsuna. "Magia Erabea is a spell that enhances your body ten folds but at the same time all the negative effects doubles as well, which means all the strains that you do doubles up making it harder for you to move. Only those with enhanced bodies are allowed to use this technique for a long period of time. I tried to warn you but you refused to listen"

"Grr… I can still fight you!"

"No… you can't" he replied somewhat coldly. "After the effects of Magia Erabea wears off your body will be paralyzed for at least an hour. You're lucky that it didn't rip your skin to shreds though. Most humans who experienced this grade of black magic usually have their bones grinded to dust by now. You must be a lot stronger than a regular human after all"

**(Kaede's hidden house)**

Kaede sat worryingly by Negi's side as he continued to twitch in pain and anger that moment. She had managed to get the boy some cold water to cool down the fever but the water simply boiled away like it was put in front of a chunk of molten lava. She attempted again and again and even tried to use ice but they too also melted away in seconds. "Negi bozu…" she attempted to make some special medicines from her family's secret recipe as well with whatever herbs she could take from her pockets, but somehow she also knew that the effects wouldn't last.

But just when things were finally settling down, Kaede began to notice some parts of the house were getting brighter than usual. It was then her magic sensors kicked in telling her that her invisible house shield had been compromised. The light barrier from the outside world was tearing through her house-rag like a hole cut in the o-zone layer or something like that. "Damn… its way too early for him to get up. I guess I'll have to make a break for the… ughh… what the…" as she was just about to take Negi out of the place, a sudden headache came upon her, making her head spin rapidly like her brain was being flushed down the toilet. "Damn it… the effects of the city of light… is… getting…to… me…" she dropped onto her legs with one of her hand carrying her head. She felt woozy and a very weak even to struggle at all.

Tick…

As she slowly faded into a state of unconscious, she noticed the lights were once again draining the energy out of Negi's body, feeding on his dark powers like a glass of soda being sucked by a straw. "Negi… no… I won't let you… down…" with the last of her strength, Kaede dragged her weak body closer to the boy's face putting it next to her chest. She could feel the heat generated by the fever roaming around his skin, but she could care less about that. She just wanted to protect him in any way she could. She has experienced many horrible things before in her life, but to see Negi's face showing such a dreadful expression was simply more than enough to break her heart. A kid of his age should never be allowed to experience such events much less even being the center of all things. No… he deserved better… a lot better than this fate.

Tick…

"Hmm… I think… this is the only thing I can do for you right now Negi bozu" Kaede cooed to him in a mothering way.

Tick…

"Heh… if only we had a bathtub here then it would really feel like home" she recalled the time when Negi first visited her in the forest where they bathed together in a single bathtub. "Oh yeah those were the good old days" but just as she curled up to him and removed the bangs off the boy's face she noted on how really handsome the child teacher really was, "You know… if I were to die here Negi… I wouldn't mind it at all. I would die happily knowing that I'm with you sensei. (exhausted panting) Ever since you came into Mahora bozu, life's been quite an adventure. I mean I never thought I'd actually get to beat up demons from different time and dragons from another realms and mages… don't even get me started on that subject. (pause) I would've never believed magic truly exist at all if it weren't for you. Heck… I still have a hard time trying to believe everything I've been doing for the last semester when you started teaching us. (chuckle) Before I met you Negi my life was probably a highway with many fork roads and no signs to tell where I'm actually going. I took so many wrong turns that I just kept coming back to the same place over and over again" she snuggled the boy closer to her, wrapping her arms around his body. "But… with you around, I finally feel like I have a guide to tell me which way to actually go. And now… now that I'm with you…… I... I guess you could say that I don't feel lost anymore. (sniff) Ah... look at me. How unwomanly to be crying for something so trivial" she forced out a laugh which quickly ended. "So… please Negi……… please don't leave us. Don't leave me…" she let out a tear run down her cheek as if it carried all the weight that she had held all these years. "If you do… I…… I wouldn't know where to go anymore" and just right before she lost consciousness, she felt Negi's hands held onto hers, giving her that warm fuzzy feeling deep inside. "I... I don't want to get lost again..."

The Darkness… comes…

CLANK!!!

**"ARGHHHHHHHAAAAAAA!!!!!"**


	2. Awaken The Darkness

**Chapter 2: Awaken The Darkness**

**(The White Citadel)**

The magic world was silent the moment Negi let out that dark roar through his mouth that day. Takahata's cigarette seemed to have ran cold for some reason, Rakan's sa-ke turned sour, Eva's wine turned to ash in her belly, trees all around trembled as if there was an earthquake and animals from the smallest ant to the mightiest dragons shook with fright not knowing what was fast approaching them.

But in another realm within a third dimension of the magic world, Fate Averncus awoke from his throne only to find an empty white wall with some of his golem knights guarding the area with all vigilance. "Hmm…" he muttered out before noticing footsteps coming from the hallway. "Ah… welcome back your highness…" she motioned to the long pig tailed red head girl wearing female warrior chest plate and a giant sword holstered in its scabbard on her back. "You seem well…"

"You know I don't usually do house calls Fate" Asuna, the twilight princess barked back at him with an irritating brow raised. "If you wanted to talk to me we could've just talked in telepathy. You do know that I'm very busy"

"Yes I know that very well. Which reminds me… how goes the maintenance of our army?"

Asuna huffed in her reply. "Considering what we've went through for the past few weeks I'm guessing we're at about to reach fifty million soldiers by tonight"

"Fifty million? Odd. You've reached ten million soldiers in just two days before"

"That's because you keep sending them off to fight before I could add them to my calculation!!" she barked. "If you keep sending them out on some silly errand to buy you pizza or something, then I doubt we'll reach half way towards our nominal grounds, in a week's time"

"Then I guess it was to be expected" Fate sighed, "Since we're on the subject already. Would you mind lending me a few hundred more? I have need of such a small number for a small task"

"Sending another scouting party to the other side?" she inquired. "If you want recon, then I suggest you use the flying ones instead of the ground ones. I still haven't perfected them either"

"That is to be expected since you do have a tendency to be afraid of heights"

"Hey! Are you making fun of me now!?"

"I was just stating to truth your highness"

"Please… don't call me that" Asuna sulked down comically. "It feels weird being called that all the time"

"Very well princess" Fate stepped down from his throne and walked towards her. "But to be honest, I'm not sending another scouting party. Tsukuyomi discovered another one of the enemy's war vessels cautiously entering our air space through the dimensional gate. It appears to be probing our defenses so I'd rather not take any chances with it"

"Hmph… fine. I'll have another hundred waiting for her by the portal in a minute" she quickly turned around and walked away, but Fate stopped her.

"Very good" he brushed past her shoulders with a small smile up his lips. "Oh and by the way. It appears Negi has finally found his father too" Asuna literally hit the breaks on her own shoes that moment when Fate said that. Her eyes widened with surprise and her sweat glands worked up on her face. She wanted to say something but she just couldn't find the words to fit the situation. She wanted to say congratulation to Negi, but that would just be lying to herself.

After a brief pause, she recomposed herself and said. "Then our battle has just become far more difficult. With him around, the White Army will be nothing more than child's play"

"True… but we still have 'those' in our arsenal"

"I'm afraid those new designs you sent me will take a little longer than expected" she told him almost instantly. "The designs are incredible but the materials needed to build them are hard to make. I should be able to make a thousand of them by tonight, but other than that I still can't guarantee that they will work the way you planned. I may need to reconfigure them if they're to work on our favor"

"Then do so. I do not intend to have a defective army at my command"

"Tch… you're starting to sound a lot more like an irritating king. Don't forget that you still have a promise to keep"

"Oh now now Kaguragaza Asuna, you need not worry. I will keep my end of the bargain as long as you remain loyal to my cause"

"Oh is that some kind of a silent threat? Don't forget that I'm strong enough to take you down from that seat of yours"

"Yes… I agree. If we should fight to the death, I would certainly be the one to lose. But don't you forget that you need me to bring about your dreams as well"

"Tch whatever… But do you still think that the Ostian army would bow to you with just this? I mean Negi did assemble a big group after all"

"Yes… he has. The host he has assembled is far larger than I could've hoped for. Honestly that boy never ceases to amaze me even after we've battled so many times"

"That's because you're just plain careless"

**(Back at Negi's ruined village)**

Setsuna and the other girls of class 3-A froze that moment when the dark blue flame burst out of the village, destroying every light-totem that Nagi erected an hour ago. As expected the barrier of the totems vanished, clearing the village of blinding light.

But out of all of them, Nagi was probably surprised the most because right after the barrier was destroyed, he felt a fist made contact onto his chin breaking through the shield he made to protect himself against physical attacks. "Gehhh!" he was thrown slightly upward and right back down to the ground like a chunk of old dried meat being tossed over and over again and again. "T… that was a seven layered shield. What kind of monster is able to get through that with just one hit?" as he looked at the hill where he was standing earlier, his body froze in shock to what replaced him there.

It was Negi carrying one of his respected students Kaede with one hand and the other hand burning in a dark blue flame that literally consumed all sorts of light. He looked down to his father, his mage cape still flapping down on his back, his eyes blood red like that from a demon and with a scowl that would even make Satan gladly take a dip in a pool of holy water for six days and six nights. His entire visage was frightening and even Eva herself trembled under that posture.

"**Your fight is with me" **he said demonically before placing Kaede down on the soft grass. His whole body resonated with so much dark energy that not even sun light could pierce through his skin.

"Negi!" Setsuna sputtered out in relief.

"Stay right where you are" he ordered in a strict and serious tone. "This is my fight…" Mana noticed his tone changed slightly and could already see that their strength level were too far apart to even begin to compare. She knew right that they would only be a hindrance to him in battle.

"Setsuna, let's go…" the markswoman urged her to agree. Setsuna was reluctant at first but seeing that she could barely even move her limbs, she agreed. Ku Fei carried Kaede on her back not once taking her eyes off the Thousand Master. Mana covered their retreat and quickly joined in to regroup with the rest of her classmates.

As both father and son once again stood on their ground, the village seemed to have suddenly turned quiet. Zazie, the gypsy of the class could feel the souls of the dead suddenly silenced themselves as if they were watching every moment of the battle between father and son. The souls of all who had perished here during the demon attack eyed the two, not taking a single blink hoping not miss one action at all.

For the first time in a long while, Nagi actually felt fear running through his bones. He had fought many opponents before and never even broken a sweat. He always knew that he would meet a strong opponent one day, but he never knew that the one to make him nervous in a fight would actually be his own flesh and blood, Negi.

"Looks like I underestimated you boyo. You managed break free from my spell after all" Negi did not reply. Instead he only gave him a stare that struck a bit of terror into his heart. "Oh well………… shall we get this over with?" the two of them quickly got into a battle stance, signaling that they were ready.

Just before the battle between father and son broke out, the rest of the Negi's students arrived on sight. "Negi sensei!" they called out to him. They were about to join in the battle as well, but Mana stopped them. "Hold it all of you! Don't move a muscle!" she ordered with a serious tone. "Don't interfere. This is their fight… we'd only get in their way"

"But what's up with that blue fire yo!?" Kotaro barked. "He never showed that technique to me to before!"

"Neither have any of us" Chisame muttered calmly. "But whatever Negi is doing, it's a thousand times more power than Magia Erabea"

"Eh, you can sense it Chichi?" Chamo appeared on top of the young lady's head a little vigorous.

"It's hard not to when you have a Pactio to read magical powers" she had her laptop on and from what she could see in the charts: Negi's magical energy reading was going beyond 10 million points. "But these readings…… they're beyond the natural boundaries of the magic world itself. Sensei… please don't hurt yourself"

A minute has passed after Negi and Nagi turned to their combat stances. Their eyes connected to one another, making it impossible to do any feint attacks or tricks that would require street smarts to figure out. So as long as their eyes remained together, every attack they do now will have to be used with only brute force… nothing else was required.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Clunk…

The sound of a metal object hitting the floor became the starting signal of the fight. But Nagi was caught off guard when his son rushed to him with a burning fist that would've tore through his body like a drill if it weren't for his shield. "What the heck!? That was a twelfth level barrier and he broke it with just one punch?" he quickly took a defensive position and cast another magical arrow to even up the odds. "Alright boyo, this is it, time to get serious! Ten thousand magical arrows!" a hail of arrows suddenly filled the sky swarming nearly the entire horizon. The entire class of 3-A were terrified of such an attack.

But Negi on the other hand looked bored instead of excited or frightened. As the arrows were fired upon him, he waved his hand around and chanted a spell that he never even heard of before. "Dero Abyssilia… (Dark Abyss)" immediately a vortex of ungodly powers appeared in front of the boy, sucking everything into its dark whirlpool. The magical arrows Nagi sent out to attack was simply hurled away into nothingness.

"Wha?" to say the least the Thousand Master was impressed and yet the same time scarred of that power. He took a mental note to never again piss off Negi even if he is eating his favorite beef steak stew. "I guess cheap tricks and tactics really won't work in a fight like this. You've come far Negi" with a moments break given, the mage quickly rolled up his sleeves still grinning, but at the same time shaking with fear and excitement. He then took in several deep breaths to get his muscles to relax.

But on Negi's corner, he wasn't doing a darn thing. The boy just stood there… like he was waiting for his father to prepare himself.

As the dust rolled by the ruins of the empty destroyed houses of the village, Nagi soon took position and prepared himself for battle. "Denextrus Michelai!" the moment he cast those words out, Nagi's body was engulfed with powerful wind allowing him to float over the ground at any height. "Ok boyo, the gloves are off on this one! Let's see how strong you really are!" in a blink of an eye, he vanished in an instantaneous speed surprising everyone who was watching.

When Negi saw this, his left brow raised ever so slightly giving out a hint that he was somewhat surprised of that speed. But of course his eyes were trained so well that he could see where his father was going. After another moment, he quickly vanished into thin air leaving a trail of smoke in his place.

"They've vanished!?" Kasuga Misora (AKA: The nun) yelled in shock.

"No…" Yue replied sternly. "They're just moving too fast for our eyes to see"

"Eh? Can you see them Yue?" Nodoka questioned.

"Not really… but I can hear them fighting somewhere nearby. Who knows… they might even be right next to us and we wouldn't even know it"

"Wow… as expected from the great magician Yue" Chamo nodded proudly at her. "I guess all those days spent in that academy of wizards and witches weren't all a total lost after all"

"Hmm…" Yue didn't really know what to do right now, but her hearing skills could clearly tell where they were. "Chisame, can you pinpoint Negi's exact location with the Ala Alba badges? He should still have it on his coat"

"Yeah… great thinking Yue!" the computer genius quickly got to work using her mouse platoon. "And with the camera planted on it, we might be able to see what Negi sees" just when the computer screen popped up, her eyes widened with horror on what appeared then. True that they were able to locate Negi and see what he sees, but the boy was moving at such a speed that the pictures being transmitted were blurred in every second. "T… this is… crazy…"

"Well I guess there are just something's technology can't do" the ermine sighed.

"Nododka" Yue called to her best friend. "Do you think you can read their minds to see what Nagi's plans are? Now that he's busy fighting he won't be able to notice us doing anything"

"R… right… I think I can"

"You think that's a good idea Yue chan?" Haruna snickered in a comically-evil way. "To read the mind of your soon-to-be-father-in-law might make you lose a lot of points with Negi" the two girls froze in their actions to Paru's words. It was true… one of them had to marry Negi and if they lose points with the boy's father… it could prove disastrous on their relationship with their teacher.

Chisame and the others face faulted on them. To think that even in this situation they were still thinking of impressing the boy's old man for R-points (Relationship points).

"Eh… ugh…" Nodoka held out her book and shook in fear. Paru was usually right when it comes to love, but Nodoka just had to do something.

"You idiot!" Chisame barked which frightened the lot of them. "This isn't the time to be thinking that sort of stuff! We have other things to worry about!" she literally kicked Paru on the face and turned to Bookstore (Nodoka's nickname) for her power. "Don't just stand there! Read him!"

"Ehh… right!" not wanting to anger the computer genius anymore than she was now, Nodoka quickly got to her Pactio card. "Adeat!" she summoned out. "What is your name!" immediately the words began appearing on the Pactio card-book. Both Nagi and Negi's name appeared with ink appearing out of nowhere.

Nagi-Springfield (Nana)

Negi-Springfield (Negi bozu)

"Eh? Nagi's nickname is Nana?" Kotaro raised out a quizzled brow.

"Who cares!? All we need is Nagi's thoughts not Negi's. Nodoka, now!"

"Right! What is your aim!" again the words appeared on the book, writing in a scripted works which made it harder for the others to read. "Eh…"

"What the hell is this!? It's all scripted!?" the wolf boy groaned. "I can't read a darn thing!"

"As expected of the Thousand Master" Mana huffed. "Even reading his mind seems a lot more difficult than you could imagine"

"Relax little mutt. I can read it just fine" Chisame bonked him in the head as she read the words in her mind.

'Oh boy… I can't believe Negi's gotten this strong already and to think he only turned ten. This power must be the last wave of his dark energy. I don't think I'll be able to defeat it head on, but if I can just hold him for about five more minutes than his power should disappear. Hopefully Eva should be able to bring the boy back together. Geeze kids these days: They don't know how to handle themselves when they have power. Oh yeah that reminds me, Negi's birthday is coming up soon. I guess I'll have to ask Al (Albireo Imma) to get him a present from downtown'

Chisame sweat dropped as she read the last sentence. "You know… the niceness of this book kind of ruins the tension" but then she noticed that Negi's thoughts were appearing on the next page. "Huh?" unlike his father, Negi's page were scribbled in words that were barely even understandable. It was as if his mind was in conflict of what he was trying to say.

'Perish… on… what… therefore he must… do not do that of will he… compare it with none… beginning… far… nearing the caves of wonder… a just world is false… Darkness consumes… the wind blows eastward. The door behind the front of us closes…'

"What in the world?"

"What's the matter? Chisame san?" Konoka said worryingly. "Is something wrong?"

"N… no… nothing. I just couldn't read something" she lied. She just didn't want the others to worry on what was going on through Negi's mind right now.

"Hey Konoka chan" Ku Fei called out. "We could use a little healing over here"

"Ah yes… of course" the young lady quickly rushed over to their side to give her friend's a full healing treatment. "Adeat!" she healed Ku Fei first and then Mana who had very little scratches on her. She then rushed to Kaede who had just recently regained consciousness. "Are you ok Kaede san?"

"Yeah… thanks de gozaru. My body may be healed but I still don't have the stamina to move just yet" she quickly got into a comfortable position sitting next to the wall to observe the fight. "Man… they must be so fast. My eyes can barely tell which of them is winning"

Konoka then turned to her bodyguard Setsuna who was still gripping on her sword and gritting her teeth in anger. "Thank you ojou-sama" she tried to stand up and help Negi but she could barely even lift her own legs up. "Arghh!"

"Set-chan! Don't move" her mistress gave her an arm as leverage. "Your wounds maybe healed but you're not ready to take action"

"But… I have to do something…" she urged her body to move but nothing was budging. "I can't let Negi do… all… the fighting…"

"Hey hey, don't worry about it de gozaru" Kaede smirked. "To go in battle winded like that is just as good as going to school without a pencil or notebook. We may as well sit back and rest for now. Besides…this level of combat… is far beyond what we are even capable of doing…"

Setsuna looked back at the battle and saw how Negi was fighting against his father. His moves were so accurate and so fast that he actually mastered all his techniques to perfection, leaving away all unnecessary movements. It was hard to admit it, but the boy really has surpassed everyone who he had trained with. Whether it was magic or combat Negi would drive himself to the edge of death to master that technique and he will not rest until he learns everything he can.

In a rare sight of anger, Setsuna stabbed her sword to the ground and cursed herself for being such a weak individual. "Is there really nothing I can do…?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nagi threw a punch at his son which was again blocked and countered with another punch which he dodged. They two of them were using a wide variety of magic and combat martial arts on both ground and air level, making it neigh impossible to tell what the other person will do next. As mortal men watch this fight between father and son, they could possibly think this it was more of a battle between gods.

The magic they were using literally began to change the landscape of the place, heck some of the mountains that were used as landmarks were already none existent in this village.

"Pressure cube!"

Negi was suddenly trapped in an invisible box made entirely out of pressured air and began to squeeze him within. "Sorry boyo, but this is for your own good" Nagi was later surprised when his son broke free without even moving a finger. "Damn!"

"HAAAA!!" a flame punch came at him, but Nagi was able to block it. "Wind hammer!" a powerful force surged against Negi's body, sending him down to the ground.

By the time they were on solid ground they were both on the ground, everyone could see that they were both exhausted. They were panting at a normal rate, and their sweat glands were working overtime. Negi still had his father's staff with him but he doesn't seem to be using it anymore. "Looks like we're in a bit of a stalemate eh Negi? Don't think that either of us will leave here unscathed after all"

Silence filled the air before Negi spoke again. **"Why did you leave?"** his tone was dark and dry, like a voice rasping for water in the middle of the desert. They both dropped their posture and decided to have a little in-time-battle-conversation.

"Huh?"

"**Why didn't you tell me that you were still alive back then? Why did you leave me with Nekane nee san? Where did you gone for the past five years?"**

"Negi…"

"**I always thought you were really gone back then and I never once even thought that you were alive. When you came back when our village was attacked, why didn't you stay with me?"** Nagi turned down his head in shame. In truth when he was waiting at the village that morning he had a whole speech prepared for Negi and simulated many answers for his questions too. But now that he was facing with the real thing, he realized that there was nothing on this side of the mortal realm that could possibly satisfy the boy's quest for answers. Perhaps the answers never existed at all. After a moment of silence, Negi soon became impatient for his father to reply and began charging for another attack.

"It was… to protect you…" he said finally, which calmed the boy down a little. "I have many enemies Negi and you and your cousin are the only family I have left. The longer I stayed with you the more dangerous it became for everyone who lived in this village and if I had brought you with me, it would mean to be a life on the run. That wasn't a life I wanted you to have… especially not after the war. (pause) I was only supposed to be gone for a month or two and come visit once in awhile. But Afterwords I discovered that the organization that I tried to destroy 20 years ago had one last survivor in it. So my absence became longer than it was supposed to be. (pause) I know I can't really understand how you feel Negi, but it pained me every single moment not to be with you. But...... knowing that my actions kept you alive balanced that pain. Every day I would contact Nekane or the village elders to tell me how you were doing. Even when you were in Mahora Takahata and the principal kept me updated on how you were doing"

Negi's face lit with surprise as to what his father said. "Takahata and… the head master… knew?" his voice was calmer now as if the anger that raged inside of him was disappearing.

"Yeah, but I didn't exactly tell them where I was so I couldn't be traced ahehehehehe" Nagi humored. "But… I swear Negi. I stake my name as a magus and the Thousand Master that no matter what came over me (dramatic pause) I still thought about you every single night and day…"

The ice in Negi's heart melted completely like a scoop of ice cream thrown in the middle of the Sahara desert. The darkness on his skin faded and only a hint of dark magic remained in his eyes. "So after all this time. You were doing this just… for me…" the anger that once fueled his dark magic soon began to disappear replaced by a lighter side of the world.

"Negi kun…"

"Negi bozu…"

"Negi sensei…"

"Aniki…"

But just when the darkness in his heart was about fade away… a voice echoed at the back of the boy's head, circulating the evil that was buried deep within.

"_**Lies!"**_

"AHH!!!" Negi screamed to the top of his lunges as the True Darkness once again reappeared on his body, but now this time it was actually hurting him.

"Negi!!!" Nagi was caught unexpected when the sudden burst of dark energy loomed over him. He dropped his guard down for a moment and then suddenly the whole world fell on top of him. "Negi, what's wrong!?"

"Shut the **hell up!**" the boy roared breaking out of his own character. **"ARGGHHHH!!!"** he held his head and tried to squeeze off the pain, but it did not work. The dark magic that was just on the verge of disappearing quickly returned and to everyone's surprise, it was a lot more powerful than it once was. **"You… you lie! You only left the village to fulfill your pride! (FLARE) You abandoned us for your own selfish greed!"**

"Negi, what's wrong with…?!" he was unable to finish when his son fired a ball of pure magical energy at him. "TCH!!!!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When the other girls saw this horrifying sight, they could not help but gasp in horror. To see the boy expressing such anger and hatred was pretty much rare or at least non-existent to some. They all wanted to help, but they were either too tired, wounded or just too scared to move.

"Negi… sensei…" Setsuna stood up from her crouching position and slowly trailed her way to where the battle was occurring.

"Set-chan!" Konoka held the samurai girl by her waist to prevent her from going any further. "Your wounds!"

"Ojou-sama, please let me go!" she pleaded. "I can't stay here any longer!"

"No! If you go there, you'll get yourself killed!"

"I…… I don't care… I have… help him" as she pulled the last of her strength up, she soon lost consciousness and fell to the ground in deep slumber.

**(Eva's tent)**

Nothing could be said about how shock Chachamaru felt when she saw Evangeline that moment when Negi's powers went berserk. The young vampire dropped her wine glass onto the floor with her hands shaking and her eyes widened in fear. The android and her counterpart Chachazero had never seen Negi like this and Eva being this scarred made it all the scarier.

"It… it can't be…" the vampiress muttered out. "How is that possible?"

"Master, what is wrong with Negi?" Chachamaru asked in a very worried tone but Eva was too scared to notice the change in her voice. "Didn't he have control over his dark magic?"

"I've only heard stories about this power from my grandmother" Eva explained still shaking. "When a person accumulates a substantial amount of darkness within his heart… he will lose his ability to control dark magic, making it take a form of its own. Dark magic feeds on a person's dark desire and negative emotions. You could say that it's the fuel that makes the fire grow bigger. But if you overfeed it, it can quickly become a forest fire that can no longer be controlled. When that happens, your darkest side becomes apparent and you no longer have control over what you do" she quickly recomposed herself and sat back on the chair. "I tried accomplishing this feat before back in my days when I roamed the world freely against mankind, but no matter how evil I tried, I could never reach this state of complete madness"

"Then what happens to the user?"

"………… Once the user achieves this form, he becomes… an entirely different entity of this world……… a being of nearly unlimited powers. A being that requires nothing and will stop at nothing until he gets what he desires…… a Darkova"

**(Back in the village)**

"… A Darkova…" Nagi muttered in horror. He gritted in teeth in anger of not being able to do anything to prevent his son from delving deeper into the dark side of magic. "Damn… I was too late"

"**NAGGGIIIIIII!!!!!"** Negi's roar became that of a beast of pure rage. It echoed deep within the mountains and everyone heard it as clear as the day before them. Before the Thousand Master knew it, his son charged at him, laying a punch which would've broke his bones in an instant if it weren't for his magic shield.

"Damn it! Negi, stop this!" he leaped away hoping not to harm his son. "I don't want to hurt you Negi!"

"**DIEEE!!"** again the boy let out a powerful magic ball made entirely out of the blue fire that burned his body. Even now his surgically enhanced skin was being ripped apart by the access heat.

"ARGH!" Nagi took the blow head on but it burned everything else around him. Even the earth that he stood on was charcoaled to pitch black. "Ok… maybe standing still wasn't exactly the best thing to do" he mumbled jokingly. But before his body could react, Negi appeared in front of him instantly and laid a punch onto his stomach crushing his ribs and sending him towards an old bar that the occupants of the village used to hand out. "Ahh… damn… didn't see that one coming" he tried to get up, but Negi again laid another blow to his face, crushing the Thousand Master even deeper into the ruins.

Usually by now Nagi would be unleashing everything but as he saw his son in such pain and sadness he couldn't help but feel slightly anguished. **"ARGHHH!!"** Negi lunged himself towards the mage, going in for the kill.

"Damn it!" unable to create a barrier fast enough or to move at all Nagi blocked, but he didn't know if he was strong enough to stop that power. He braced himself for impact and prepared for the worst. He knew that he wouldn't leave this place without a wound or two but to be killed by his own flesh and blood was probably something his enemies would say 'IRONY!' But as he waited for the attack to finish him off, it never came.

"Oi oi, you're getting soft old buddy…" came Rakan's voice which surprised the Thousand Master. "I never thought I'd see the day that the Thousand Master would be defeated by his own son"

"Jack!?"

"You must've lost your touch… Nagi…" Takahata added with a smirk up his lips. The two of them added their shield against Negi's blow, sending him six feet away from their position. The Death Glasses mage lowered his shield a little bit and turned to the boy who was now a monster of his former self. A total opposite you may call it for a lack of a better term. _"I never imagined that I would actually see Negi like this. This boy has gone through so much his mind can barely hold itself together"_

"Takahata!?"

"We'll catch up on old times later old friend. Right now we have to stop your son from making us part of history!"

"I agree!" Rakan nodded in agreement. "You made one of a kid kiddo. I wonder if you had any more children they'll be as troublesome as this one" they all turned to Negi was on his hands and feet as if he was like a cornered animal prepared to fight to the death. "So what's the plan? Do we just wait for him to burn out or what?" Takahata could not reply since he did not have a plan to fight such a powerful opponent.

"That's a start" the teacher replied trembling slightly. "Right now Negi is not himself so it's possible that a few of us could leave with some bruises… he may even kill us without even knowing it. I haven't seen his full strength yet so I don't know what he's capable of"

"Well… he managed to beat me in my full strength" Rakan proudly stated smirking. "Does that count as something?"

"Then I suggest with withdraw to a better location. If we can draw him out to the open, we can stall him until he exhausted himself"

"No…" Nagi said suddenly which made both of them turn to him. "I'm through running. For all these times I've just been running and hiding from my enemies and my fears, but no more. It's because of my cowardice that made him like this. **(Arghh!)** This is my redemption to make up for lost time! (long pause) (panting) Come at me Negi!"


	3. A Wish Upon a Pair of Melons

**Chapter 3: A Wish Upon a Pair of Melons**

"Come at me Negi!" and so once again, three members of the Ala Rubra (Crimson Wing) who saved the magic world joined hand to stand against another powerful being consumed by darkness.

"**RAHHH!!!!"** Negi charged at them without even considering his own safety. Rakan blocked his charge and was quickly countered with Takahata's lightning fast kick. "Grrr!"

"Damn… his skin looks they're melting" Jack noted the boy's flesh and he was right. Negi indeed looked like he was melting from the fire that burned him (more like peeling rather than melting). "Just getting close to him can burn you… be careful"

"**ARHHHH!!!"** Negi slammed his fist to the ground, creating a shockwave that tore the earth apart. The three mages dodged it, but Nagi's wounds slowed him down.

"Eghh… looks like he got me good that boyo" the Thousand Master coughed. "This will be something to tell my grandkids huh?"

"No doubt about it" Rakan laughed. "If we actually live through this I'm sending you my doctor's bill later"

"Heh…"

"**NAGGIIIII!!!"** the boy roared again in anger before charging at the three letting out a flurry of punches and kicks. He was so fast that even Takahata was having a hard time keeping up with his movements. **"ALL OF YOU SHOULD JUST DIEEEE!!!!"** as a finishing blow, he let out a powerful beam towards the trio, sending them away from the village and into the field which the villagers used to tend and harvest.

**(Ostian-Hellian coalition forces main camp outside Ostia old capital)**

"Haa…" Albireo Imma, the former companion of Nagi sighed depressingly as he stood outside the camp looking at the wide open field. He was supposed to join Negi search for his father in his village but due to his presence being needed he was forced to stay along with the rest of the soldiers. "Such a boring day" he had just came out from the briefing tent to discuss on the sudden increase of Fate's soldiers probing their defenses at the old capital. "I wonder if Negi met with his dad yet. Oh well… I guess we'll find out once they come back"

"Yo there Al" came a voice from behind. "What're you doing here all gloomy and stuff?" the man was probably about Al's age as well but his most noticeable trademark would be the star like hairstyle on the back of his head.

"Oh hey there Ricardo" Ricardo was the authorized legislative council of the present Ostia and the commander of the majority of the country's forces. He was a decorated officer during the war twenty years ago but now he was a diplomat of Ostia. "Just trying to admire the view… that's all"

"Trying to admire?" the commander raised a quizzical brow. "Now I know something is definitely bothering you. What's the matter? Got bored during the briefing or are you gloomy because you couldn't join Negi to find his old man?"

"Hmm… you can read me like an open book. Impressive"

"Ha! Its written right all over your face!" the councilor then pulled out a bottle of sa-ke from his back and poured a cup. "Sa-ke?"

"No thanks" Albireo refused. "Where did you get that from? I never knew that they sold sa-ke here in the magic world"

"They don't" was his answer. "This was the only thing that got me to agree to that kid's ridiculous request"

"Request? It must have been steep"

"Damn right it is! I told him that I wasn't going to give him a single soldier without a good reason! And when he showed me this lovely darling… well…… how could I possibly say no?"

Al let out a mother of all sweat drops as Ricardo took several shots of that alcohol. He was probably joking about that bribing with sa-ke part, but he just couldn't help but imagine how it realistic it would sound if he said it to the officials. The muscles of an entire country in exchange for a bottle of sa-ke as an equal trade. Oh yeah… that sounded like something he would do.

"I see…"

"Damn that kid!" Ricardo continued. "Just because he got sa-ke in his world he can push me around!? Ha! Just you wait! When I finally grow old enough to retire, I'll pack my things and move to earth and have sa-ke all night with three women around me 24/7! I'll be living in a condo on top of that school he works in and grin at him like I'm the king of the world!"

"Uh Ricardo… you do know that you're talking about Negi right?"

"Course I do! What do you think I am? A fool!?" he let out a sigh and leaned back on his seat. He looked at the cup he was using and quickly threw it away. "Ah what the hell am I doing? How do those guys live with these shot glasses!?" without warning, he took the sa-ke bottle and drank it from its source. "AHH! Now that is what alcohol is all about!"

"Hehehehe… same old Ricardo" Al chuckled. "You always take things head on without any feints"

"Hey, how do you think I got this job in the first place?" he then turned to the window and smiled. The wind breezed in perfectly with the weather and the sun showed itself letting out a warm ray to heat up the land, exposing the once ruined capital of Ostia. "Such a peaceful place… even though it was destroyed years ago during the war, it still looks beautiful from the outside"

"Yeah… it does…" Al agreed.

After a couple more gulps from the sa-ke bottle, the commander turned his attention back to his old companion. "So… when is that hero-kid coming back? He should be with his dad right about now right?"

"They're probably catching up on old times. They might even be letting out a few tear jerking moments. Who knows maybe even Rakan is crying right now"

"HA!! Now that is something I would like to see before I pass away!"

**(Back in the village)**

The battle raged on for another ten minutes or so and neither side looked like they were bound to give up anytime soon. The uncontrollable Negi was right at the center and the three members of the Ala Rubra were scattered around him slightly beaten. Many of Rakan's swords littered the battlefield, most of them were shattered and broken into pieces. Takahata's glasses were ripped to shreds by Negi's last attack and with that his sight of the field deteriorated for a small margin. Nagi on the other hand still stood strong. Even though his bones were crumbled to dust he still managed to get up to face the beast that he had created.

"This is beyond incredible" Takahata mumbled. "To think that we would be outdone by one so young. Heh… these kids just don't know when to stop growing. Kind of makes me feel like I want to be a student again"

"Hey now… don't say that" Jack grinned with blood dripping down his mouth. "It makes me feel old too you know"

"Yeah… it's only been twenty years T.K." Nagi added. "We're not that old yet"

Their laughter however was mildly interrupted when they remembered that a certain kid wanted their heads on a pike. "Hooo… I almost forgot about him" Jack sighed. "But I got to say he's got a lot tougher. Too bad he can't exactly control his power or else he would've wiped the floor clean with Fate's face"

"And it doesn't look like he's going to stop anytime soon" Takimichi groaned. "If there was only something to calm him down or bring him back to his senses"

…

…

…

…

Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock…

…

…

…

…

…

TING!

"I GOT IT!!" Rakan yelled out which made the others turn to him. "If he wants an eye opener treat then he's got it!"

"What are you talking about Jack?" the old swordsman could not help but snicker and giggle childishly about his plan. Not wanting the boy to hear about it, he whispered to his old comrades and waited for their reaction. To say the least, Takahata had a mad blush appearing on his face and Nagi couldn't help but laugh again even harder than before. "HA!! You've got to be kidding me!? Seriously, Jack!?"

"I bet my hair on it kiddo" Rakan gave out a thumbs up. "But it's gonna take a lot of planning and timing. Just pick one and you do the rest"

"I think I'd rather face him and die" Takahata groaned.

"Oh come on Takahata, where's your sense of risk!? This is our lives we're talking about here! A little aid from the outside won't hurt a bit!"

"Sounds fun, I'm in!" Nagi agreed. "So it's two against one. Majority rules. And besides, we don't have time to think of another plan anyway" and just when they finished discussing their brilliant plan, the three warriors leaped off, dodging another one of Negi's powerful blue fireball. "Alright guys! Let's do it! GO!"

"Oh yeah!" Negi saw their actions and became slightly puzzled. From the forms of their maneuvers, they all appear to be retreating back to the ship where they came by. "This is gonna be fun!"

Sensing a strange plot in their plan, Negi's dark side took in once more and leaped in to intercept them. He chased down Takahata first since he was the closest. They both exchanged a flurry of blows and since it was obvious that Negi was superior in close combat, Takahata was beaten. "Hmph…" he then chased over to his father, Nagi, whose movements were delayed due to his serious internal damage.

"Oh boy, I'm really gonna get it now… aren't I?" Negi quickly laid a punch between his eyes but was surprised when the figure vanished in a puff of smoke.

"A decoy…" the boy scanned around trying to see where his father may have went but he could not detect him. "Hmph…" seeing that the man wasn't going to show himself anytime soon, Negi decided to go after his third and final target, Jack Rakan, who was already about half way to his target.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Uh hey… Rakan… san?" Konoka noted when the man approached them with lightning fast speed. Setsuna and the others saw this as well and quickly prepared for battle in case he was going to attack them.

"Ahh good. All of you are here" the large muscle head man smirked.

"Grr! What do you want now Rakan!?" Setsuna drew out her blade once again with little strength to put into action. "Do you want another fight!?"

Jack quickly waved his hand in defense. "What? No no no no! Sorry but actually I need one of you guys to help me bring Negi back to his old self"

"And how do you intend to do that?"

"Well I need someone who has a certain talent to calm him down" he explained in a carefree way. "Anyway… your mistress… hmm…" he analyzed Konoka's body but did not find what he was looking for. "No… she doesn't have it. You on the other hand…" he then scanned Setsuna's body but still that certain 'something' was missing. "No… she's got the shape but not the size…"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!?" Chimsame roared.

"Be quiet for a minute will ya? I'm trying to find a good candidate here" but then the computer genius noted that something at the distance was coming their way.

"Ah! Negi!?"

"Damn… looks like I'm out of time" but just before Rakan gave up, his eyes fell onto Ku Fei. "Oh…" he scanned her body and then PING… jackpot. "AH! You there: Girl with the strange hairstyle! You'll do perfectly!"

"Eh? Me aru?" the Chinese martial artist looked dumbfounded.

"That's right. You have the gift" Rakan smirked proudly at her. "Now if you would just move here and face there for a second" he placed the girl in position right in front of Negi's attack, making her look like a human shield. "Ok, now hold…"

"Ahh! He's coming!"

"Rakan san! What are you doing?"

"Just trust me on this will ya!?" he yelled back a little unsure as well on how the plan will work or not. "When have I let you guys down before?" If he had said that to Negi earlier, the boy would've counted to nearly a hundred times or more. "Ok girl… Ku Fei was it? (nod) Ok, don't move and let me do the rest. Just flex your muscles and the kid should be back to his senses in no time"

"Ah… ok aru…"

A few seconds just before Negi laid a punch on Jack, the old swordsman flashed out a wide smile and yelled. "Hey kiddo, get a load of this!" without any warning whatsoever, Rakan ripped the top part of Ku Fei's clothing, revealing her giant breast in front of the boy, making him stop on his attack. The other student jaws dropped widely on the floor and many others face faulted to the ground like they were just smacked with a hammer. Does his perverseness know no boundaries?

"Whoa! Ma ma mia! What a flashpoint!" Chamo yelled madly drooling. "I'm going to need contact lenses for this!"

"Ah… ah… ah…" Ku Fei gasped in shock as Negi's face was extremely close to her giant E cups. A few moments later, Negi quickly flung away, his nose spurting a fountain of blood. "AHHH!!! Rakan, you bastard!!" she slammed her fist onto the muscleman's face, sending him towards the wall where Kaede was sitting.

"Oww… and to think I was going to leave this place without a scratch" he chuckled. "But I got to admit, that kid really is Nagi's little son! He had the same look when he first saw two giant melons at once. HAHAHAHA!!" but his laughter was cut off short when he noticed a few of Negi's students hovering over him with angry glares sticking out of their faces. "Ah… hey there… ladies…" and so the scream he let out that evening could be heard from all corners of the village.

**(White Citadel) (Teleportation gate)**

Tsukuyomi, the blade dancer of Fate's private army whistled happily near the entrance of the White Citadel which was probably the only gateway to the alternate dimension. But don't let her childish appearance fool you. She may be young, but her skills in twin short swords are second to none and her cute behavior is only matched equally by her lust for blood and sensation of death. In short… she's a crazed killer with a conscious of following Fate's orders.

"Hey, creepy girl" came Asuna's voice from behind. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you"

"Ah your highness, how are you fairing on such a lovely afternoon? Or is it evening? Ahehehe" Tsukuyomi chuckled childishly. "It's hard to tell the time when you have an artificial sun hovering over twenty four seven"

"Yeah… I haven't much of a wink of sleep myself. Anyway, I brought you the troops you need" and in moments a large army of golems appeared behind the young princess, awaiting their next command.

"Ahh yay! I finally get to kill something! Thank you your majesty, I'll definitely send you a present when I find one teehee"

"Ahhh whatever" she then turned to her soldiers. "Alright you lot! Move out!" with the army marching through the portal, Asuna couldn't help but worry. "I can't believe that a giant castle like this only has one way in and out. The designer could've at least put on a second gate for emergencies"

"Ah ahh… now that would be hard" Tsukuyomi waved her finger left and right. "Think of it as an advantage to the defenders. With only one point of entry, the soldiers don't need to worry about the enemy making a sneak attack from somewhere else. So the only way to breach this fortress would be through sheer number of force…… and the number of bodies they're willing to throw at you. This also makes it a lot more fun so that I can kill them by the dozens tee hee"

"This girl…… is way too sadistic for my taste…" Asuna grumbled uncomfortably.

"Anyway, I should go now. There's bound to be a lot of blood to spill! Hey I know! I'll send you one of the heads I find from the enemy and give it to you as a gift!"

"Please… keep the head…"

**(5 hours later) (Ala Alba club's ship on route to the old capital) (AKA: Paru's ship)**

"Erghh…" Negi groaned out in slight pain as his eyes adjusted to the light bulb above him. He felt stiff and numb for a moment and his head feels like it was flushed down the toilet and sucked back out with vacuum cleaner. "Oh… my head…"

"Negi!" the voice of a familiar girl echoed loudly in his ear deafening him momentarily.

"Ojou sama, don't be so loud"

"Oh… sorry (pause) Negi sensei, are you alright?"

"Is he going to be alright aru?"

"Hey hey look! His eyes are moving!"

"Paru, shut up!" bonk!

"Oh…" the boy's eyes fluttered open and immediately he was greeted by the presence of six girls. Konoka, Setsuna, Haruna, Nodoka, Yue and Ku Fei. "Where…?"

"Negi kun!" the six of them literally leaped with glee to know that their favorite child teacher was back from his long slumber. "Negi kun, we were so worried" Konoka hugged the boy lovingly on her neck and held him tight. "I'm so glad that you're awake! I was afraid that you might be sleeping forever"

"Yeah aru! You were out cold for awhile there! Had me worried for a moment too aru!" Ku Fei sighed with relief.

"Ojou sama, please… give Negi some time and room. He just woke up" Setsuna had to pry her mistress away from the boy just to give him some breathing space. "Are you alright, Negi sama?"

"Y… yeah… I'm fine" he replied wearily. "But… where… am I?"

"You're on board my ship that's where you are!" Haruna stated proudly. "We're on our way back to the Ostian main camp to join up with the others to fight against Fate. Remember? You clawed your way from the life of an outlaw being chased by bounty hunters from all over the magic world fighting for your dear life every minute of the way! Afterwards you fought in the Negi Springfield tournament and won against Jack Rakan in a grueling one on one battle (Kotaro was there of course) and freed Ako and her friends from slavery. Soon after that you reunited the entire class of 3-A together and made a pactio card with everyone, thus giving us power over normal opponents. Later, we realized that Asuna, AKA: The Twilight Princess, got capture so in effort to rescue her you gained the trust and favor of the kingdom of Hallus and Ostia for their military and network support. Soon afterwards we discover that Fate tried to gain the Crown of Twilight. We tried to stop him but he took advantage over your chivalrous heart and so allowing him to go freely. Now that he has the crown of Twilight he controls an army of golems at the palm of his hand. A few days later, you were reunited with your father and had a little heart to heart talk and right now we're about to…"

"That's enough!" Yue slammed a large paperback book onto the manga artist's head. "He only asked where he is, not a whole chapter of his life! Geeze Paru!"

"Ahh sorry, I was just giving him a refreshing course just in case he got amnesia or something ahehehehe"

"Here Negi kun, drink some water" Konoka gave him a glass of pure clean water and fed it to him like a child. "I was able to heal some of the wounds you got from the battle, but the later ones could not be healed because they were more than three minutes already"

"That's ok Konoe san…" Negi replied. "I guess it was my fault for being so reckless. I guess I must've lost the fight. I don't really remember much, except that I lost consciousness when the darkness took over me. How did my father defeat me?" the girls could not help but eye Ku Fei strangely who was blushing madly like a ripe tomato. "Eh?"

"Ah… there's no need to worry about that" Konoka smiled it off. "You're safe now and that's all that matters"

"Yeah Negi dono" Paru nodded in agreement. "You can't win them all anyway ahehehe"

"I see…… well where is my father?"

"Oh he's catching up with Takahata and Rakan san at the back right now"

"AHHHH!! MERCYYY!!" came a plea from the outside which alarmed Negi.

"Was that Rakan san?"

"Ahh crud… I knew I should've installed the sound proof walls in the medical bay" Paru groaned evilly knowing well what that swordsman was going through. "Makie's probably treating her patients right now.

"Eh? I didn't know that Makie was a nurse before"

"She isn't…"

**(Medical ward)**

Nagi and Takahata could only watch and accept the fate that Rakan had waiting for him at the hands of Nurse Makie. Though the man may look like a tough nut to crack, Rakan had only one weakness in him which Negi and his friends often exploited upon discovery.

Shots… or to be more specific, injection shots. Ever since Jack was little he has been terrified with shots because his parents often took him to the hospital to get medical shots for some reason. Ever since then, he had been afraid of injection tubes even until now.

"Now now Rakan san, this won't hurt a bit, I promise you" Makie cooed as she showed him the needle she was going to insert in his veins. The man couldn't move because he was covered in bandages and the battle he had with Negi paralyzed him almost completely. "Ok… shall we go for the big shot or the small shot? Hmm… eenie meenie minie moe… oh the extra large shot! How perfect!"

"AHHH!!!! HELP!!!!"

"Ahehehehe… poor Jack…" Nagi let out a sweat drop. Though he suffered the worst of the beating in the fight against Negi's dark side, Makie did not once mistreat him because he was the legitimate father of her child teacher and that means that if he earns some points with him, it may lead her closer to Negi. Right now, Nagi was really glad to be the father, because he couldn't imagine what sort of torture the girls had plans for him if he wasn't.

"Don't worry, they won't kill him" Takahata chuckled. "Anyway Nagi, how are you feeling?"

"Do you really need to ask? I haven't felt this kind of pain since I battled those fire giants in Hell's Mountain. Haa… those were the days"

"Seeking to become even stronger than you are now I believe…"

"Yeah…" Nagi laid back to relax on his bed. "Especially since HE'S still out there"

Takahata seemed to have paused slightly in question before turning to his old comrade in arms. "So it's true… he's still alive? The mage of beginning?"

"Yeah…"

"But I thought you defeated him at the battle of the pillars?"

"I did…… but I couldn't…" seeing that his words made no sense to Takahata, Nagi decided to clarify his claims. "You could say that he destroyed himself. Back when we fought at the center of that spire… Fillus was thrown back with one hit on the chest. None of our magic attacks worked and to get close to him required a lot of luck and strength. But of course, neither my master nor I surrendered to him. We kept lounging ourselves at him trying to find even a hint of a weak spot… but there were none. But just when I was about to be turned to dust… something happened…"

"Something… happened?"

Rakan caught a whiff of the conversation the two of them were having and quickly became interested. He scooted his ear closer to eves drop on every word.

"What happened then… Nagi?"

"He spoke to me…" the Thousand Master said finally.

"_Please… kill me…"_

"Kill him?" Takahata gave out a quizzical look.

"Yeah… as strange as it sounds… that's what he said to me" Nagi lowered his head still puzzled over that.

"Hmm… this makes things a lot more complicated than ever"

"Hey hey, hey you guys!" Rakan shouted, "Try not to think about it too much ok? Let's deal with one thing at a time. First let's finish off Fate then we can focus on that blackie boy in black cape ok? Now get some shut eye. We should be at the Ostia's main camp by tomorrow"

**(Time skip 1 hour 30 minutes) (Negi's room)**

Negi's room was probably the most luxurious one in the entire ship if Haruna would say so herself. It had the most space, the biggest bed, the best view of the ship's outer deck and cleanest floors that you could actually see your own reflection. Albert Chamomile (AKA: Chamo) shared the room with him, but being a small creature that he was, he made the working desk that Negi uses as his own private home. Paru had spared no expense in making Negi's room the best in the boat she even installed him a private bathroom so that he wouldn't be harassed by the other girls to make him take a bath with them.

"Errr……" Negi stood up from his bed only to realize that his body had been bandaged from left to right. His mind immediately pointed out that one of the girls must have done this, one with talents of using sarashi and medical knowledge, preferably Konoka. He could see some part of his body burnt and he could not feel his skin at all. Knowing well that he could not stay cooped in his room forever he decided to go outside for some fresh air. "Argh…" but his legs gave way as they were too sore to even lead such a force.

"Ah! Aniki!" Chamo came out of his miniature house after hearing the boy's sudden cry. "You shouldn't be standing around like that aniki. You should get back to bed and get some rest. You were pretty beat up just a few hours ago"

"Ah… sorry about that Chamo kun. I just wanted to get some fresh air, that's all"

"Well… I guess this place is a little humid" the ermine sighed. "Ok… since you're going then I guess I'll have to go with you. Who knows when you might collapse again" he quickly rode on Negi's shoulder to be guide. "Oh that reminds me. Zazie came by earlier and she thought that you might need that thing over there in case you felt like getting a breeze" he pointed towards a walking stick cane near the door. To Negi, it was a finely made cane. It was made completely out of oak wood, carved by a sharp and skilled knife user and on the handle of the cane was a strange looking switch. "Oh and she thought that you might be hungry when you travel so she installed this too"

With a press of that switch the top of the cane opened up, revealing a small bowl full of candies and treats. "A snack box?"

"Yeah! Pretty convenient don't ya think?"

"Umm… I guess that might come in handy" he quickly closed the snack compartment and walked to the door only to find it open from the other side.

"Ah, Negi kun" Konoka's smiling face appeared on the other side with a plate of food in hand. "You're up"

"Ah good evening Konoka san. How are you?"

"I should be asking you that question Negi" she chuckled. "I was just about to give you your dinner but now that you're awake you can join us at the living room"

"Oh! Are we having chicken curry again!?" Chamo asked excitingly. He then took a whiff of the plate in front of him and let out a moan of pleasure. "Ah… the smell of heaven itself"

"Tee hee… if you want some, you can join us later"

"Ahh! Yotsuba is the best cook in the world!" Chamo prasied.

"What about you Negi kun?"

"I'll be happy to join you of course" was his instant answer, "But first I would like to get some fresh air at the balcony. Oh and thank you for bandaging me Konoka san. They really help"

"Huh? Oh I didn't bandage you. Setsuna was the one who did it. I was never really good at bandaging wounds before only healing them so you need to thank her"

"Is that so?" it made perfect sense to Negi since Setsuna was probably the only person other Kaede who knew how to use sarashi bandages. "Where can I find her then? I would like to thank her personally"

"Oh she's right here" Konoka opened the door full way this time, revealing Setsuna who appeared to be hiding behind the bulkhead. She appeared to have overheard the whole conversation and had a blush appearing on her face. "Set-chan, Negi kun wants to say something to you"

"You didn't have to say that you know" Setsuna sweat dropped. "Uh… is that… so…"

"At Setsuna dono, thank you for treating my wounds. I never knew you were this good in bandaging" Negi bowed slightly with his usual heartwarming smile.

The samurai girl turned away trying to hide her blush from him. "Ugh… y… y… your welcome…" she stuttered. "It was nothing really… I did it plenty of times before so there's really no need"

"Oh now that's not true" Konoka snickered. "You stood guard in front of the door ever since Negi was brought on board. Even though I told you to rest since your injuries are severe"

"Eh? Really Setsuna?" Negi looked at her worryingly.

"Yeah aniki. She used that Magia Erabea thing for up to an hour so her body got beat up pretty bad" Chamo added.

"It's not as bad as it……" she was stopped mid of her sentence when Negi took her arm and scanned the damage inflicted on it.

"Setsuna san, I told you not to use that technique unless it was an extreme emergency!" he scolded, though it looked like he was blaming himself more than accusing her. "I taught you this technique so that you could protect Konoka, not use it on a vendetta" the soft touch of the boy's hands made Setsuna's heart stir and growl like a lion waiting to be unleashed upon the world. It felt warm and welcoming and for some reason it made her face go red like a tomato.

"I… I… I…" for the first time with an encounter with the child teacher, Setsuna felt like she was about to burst. Not wanting the two of them to see such an expression coming from her face she dashed away with the speed of light. "Forgive me!!!!!" she yelled while running, leaving behind two dumbfounded friends.

"Ah! Setsuna san!"

"Set chan?" the two of them could only watch puzzled by the girl's actions. But Chamo kun on the other hand had a sly smile curling on his lips. "Ooooh… now this is juicy…" he grinned. "Hey aniki, I'm going to the rest room for a bit. You go on and take your stroll" without waiting for the boy's reply, he dashed off towards the bed room area where his team of love interestors were waiting.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once Chamo arrived on scene, he was greeted by Kazumi, the photographer along with her ghost friend Sayo, Haruna the manga artist, Nodoka the mind reader, Yue the magician in training, Makie the acrobatic and Ayaka the class representative. He then explained the situation to them stating on how Setsuna reacted to Negi. After a brief discussion the other members couldn't believe their ears. Setsuna, the girl who they thought was a sure shot woman for Konoka, has a crush on a boy? Better yet… Negi!?

"EHHHH!!!!!" they group yelled out in unison.

"Is this true Chamo!?" Haruna grinned mischievously. "Has the queen of ice herself, the almighty Setsuna, the swordswoman of Mahora, the Black Raven/Angel herself really has feelings for Negi!?"

"Yup, I saw it with my own two eyes" the ermine proudly nodded. "I've never seen that young lady do that expression unless it was onee chan (Konoka) hugging her. Her face was all red yo"

"Are you sure you're not exaggerating a little bit?" Yue said slightly nerved by the recent news. "She could just be embarrassed that she lost to Negi's father in that last battle and made her look weak in front of everyone"

"I'm sure that I'm sure!" Chamo replied determined with his answer. "I stake my title as the king of lingerie on it! A guy like me can never be blind to love like aniki!"

"Ohh… this is a big scoop" Kazumi smirked. "I've got to find out how much of this is true. An ace photographer such as myself need the latest news and this one fits the bill just fine"

"Well… if Chamo is that serious on betting his title of master of panties, then I guess this is something worth investigating" Haruna added before turning to his other two friends. "What's your comment on this Nodoka?"

"Yeah! The comment of the one who managed to confess her love to Negi sensei before everyone will be a major hit on the Mahora news weekly!" Kazumi agreed pulling out a microphone out of nowhere. "Do you feel like your chances with Negi sensei has slimmed now that you have another love rival other than Yue and Makie san?"

"Umm… I uh… umm… I don't… umm…" the young mind reader stuttered embarrassingly.

But then suddenly Ayaka burst in, blowing the other members away. "WHAT THE HELL IS THE MEANING OF ALL THIS!!!! No! Definitely no! Absolutely not! I forbid it! I will not have anyone my Negi kun other than me! Mua! I, Yukihiro Ayaka will use every power in my disposal to stop this relationship to develop any further!"

"Yeah! That's the way class rep!" Makie agreed wholeheartedly. "No one's gonna take Negi sensei away from us!"

"Damn straight!"

"Hey, maybe if we go to the second floor balcony, we can spy on Setsuna. She's probably there already watching the view meditating or something"

Seeing that the situation was growing bolder, Ayaka pointed to the door and yelled. "Right then! To the balcony!"

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Yue muttered before following the group to the balcony.

**(Ship's outer deck)**

"Haaa…" Setsuna sighed out shyly with her face flushed as she leaned forward on the balcony area which was used as a viewing area for the crew. Before Haruna bought the ship from a trader in Ostia, the outer deck was supposedly used to be a platform for a turret cannon, but Paru found the thing to be old and out of style and not to mention that it blocked a decent view from the ship's bridge. "What is wrong with me?" she groaned. "Ever since yesterday I feel like I'm going to burst. (panting) Maybe I have a fever or something. I should probably ask ojou sama to check up on me. Who knows, I might've caught a flu from this world. (Pause) Oh… but she's probably busy treating the others. I should probably asked Negi sen… sei on… eh?" the moment she mentioned out that boy's name her face suddenly began to flush again and her chest began to thump rapidly like it was going to have a heart attack. "Wha? What's going on? My heart is… is… beating too fast!" she quickly focused on her breathing and allowed the pain to subside.

With all of her concentration focused on suppressing and analyzing what was wrong with her, Setsuna was unable to detect a group of her classmates spying right behind her.

"Hey… did you see that?" Chamo snickered.

Paru nodded and smiled evilly. "Definitely. I've never seen Setsuna so flustered before hehehe. My love detection radar is going crazy hee hee hee hee. This is big… even for Setsuna, it is pretty big. Perhaps she lost her taste for Konoka and moved on to a real boy"

"But this still proves nothing" Yue stated. "She may look flustered but it doesn't say who she's embarrassed about"

"I… I agree" Nodoka nodded furiously. "We mustn't jump to conclusions just yet without proof"

"As much as I want this scoop to be real, I'm gonna have to agree with Bookstore right now" Kazumi sighed. "Talking about it and blabbering stuff randomly is pretty much just like a paparazzi taking whatever he can find"

"Hmm… I guess you girls have a point" Chamo nodded in defeat. "But finding evidence on this will be a lot harder than most girls since Setsuna is a lot more dangerous. I don't want to get turned into an ermine soup for dinner"

"Heh… I guess I didn't have to worry for anything after all" Ayaka smiled softly.

"Yeah… I guess we went a bit far thinking like that" Haruna sighed. "Besides, the only way we could get hard evidence is for Negi to talk to her directly and privately. And even that is still considered hard. Huh?" but just when the love group was about to give up, the bulk door of the lower deck suddenly opened, catching the attention of the gang. And wouldn't they know who appeared……

"Ah Setsuna san, there you are"

The samurai girl quickly turned around only to find her heart pumping up again. "N… Negi… Sensei…?"

"SPEAK OF THE DEVIL HIMSELF!!!" the girls hiding screamed out in their minds along with Chamo. Who would've thought that such a perfect situation would actually occur at a time like this!? Setsuna and Negi… alone… on deck… with a view that was perfect for a love scene. "T… this is crazy" Paru grinned from ear to ear like a cat waiting to strike. "What a perfect situation! I can't believe how lucky we are to witness history in the making!"

"Quick! Quick Kazumi chan! The camera! Get the camera! Record this scene and don't even miss a second of it!" Chamo urged the photographer to pull out her recording camera to digitize the entire event.

"N… Negi… sensei?" Setsuna tried her best to hide her flushed out face but it failed. "I thought you went out for a little fresh air at the balcony?"

"Oh I did… but it couldn't get up the stairs because of my leg ahehehe" he gestured to his injured leg which her received during the previous battle. "But anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something"

"About… something?"

"Yes, its regarding… what we did last week…"

The love team that were eavesdropping on the conversation began to shudder imagining some grotesque event that happened between the two. "W… what they did last week?" Paru questioned to anyone who could provide the answer.

Luckily Kazumi had a thought. "Last week? (thinking) Hey now that he mentioned it: Sayo said that she usually saw Setsuna and Negi meeting up late at night away from the camp"

"Really?!" they all turned to Sayo who hovered in her doll form.

"Yeah… they usually come out during midnight. The guards are the only ones awake during that time and when no one is looking, they would meet up at the Elm tree at the center of the ruins"

"Oh that…" Chamo nodded. "Actually they were just…" but he was cut off when the class rep smashed him with her hands.

"And?" Ayaka demanded. "What were they doing!? Did you see?!"

"Ugh… no…" was her reply. "I kind of felt guilty stalking them so I went back" the others face fault on the floor like a block of cement. "Ahehehe… sorry"

"Say chan!" Kazumi roared softly. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier!? This would've been the scoop of the century!"

"Hmm hmm…" Paru smiled nervously trying to decipher what was going on. "This is certainly a suspicious act for two young ones" she began. "It's obvious what they were doing. Meeting alone in the middle of the night in a secluded spot at the ruins of a forgotten capital with no signs of life for another kilometer or so"

"H… Haruna san!" Nodoka stated worryingly. "Do… do you really think that Negi is…"

"Nodoka! Don't think such things!" Yue slapped her head. "Don't forget that you were the first to confess to him. That means that you have a lead over everyone on board this ship!"

"But it's not impossible" Paru added, earning her a confused look from the others. "I mean come on. You have to give Setsuna some credit. She has the looks to match against Akira, the skills of a swordsman, the support of a rich family and I know as much as girls don't want to admit it, she's got bigger cup size than the both of you hahahahahaha!"

"Ackk! Now that was an insult Paru!"

"Shh! Be quiet! They're talking!" the others quickly hurdled in to listen to the camera that was close to Negi's position. "Ahh crap, the sound's breaking up. Hold on, let me configure this"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Negi sensei… I… I know that you told me never to use that technique unless it was to protect ojou sama, but I had to…" Setsuna lowered her head in shame. "I'm sorry for disobeying you"

"Ah… that's alright Setsuna san" the boy waved it off. "I'm just glad that you didn't hurt yourself. But you overused that technique. Your fight went on for so long that the magic started to peel away your skin and I don't want to see you hurt because of something I taught you. The only reason I gave you Magia Erabea was to protect, not to harm others"

"Negi… I understand your concern, but this was my choice. I wanted to learn this spell so that I could better protect others. You should understand this as well since I know that you would gladly put yourself in harms way just to protect us. And thanks to this technique, I was able to defeat Tsukuyomi when we fought in Heaven's Hill"

"Yeah… but we still lost the crown of Twilight" Negi sobbed which Setsuna sweat dropped to.

"Oh… by the way Negi sensei" Setsuna turned to a dead serious tone. "How is it that you are able to prolong the side effects of Magia Erabea? When I fought Nagi san for about ten minutes or so, I began to feel pain all over my body"

"Ahh that's the bad side to dark magic" the boy explained. "When your powers are doubled, the damages you receive are also doubled as well. It's like a give and take situation. Your body functions will act a lot quicker making it impossible for your system to catch up. Eventually your body will breakdown and you will be paralyzed. Ahehehe… I should know this since I experienced this many times before ahehehehehe"

"And how do you do it? I only fought for a short while until I felt it, but you were able to hold it for at least three hours"

Negi paused in slight shock looking as if he didn't want to answer that question. He looked at his burned arms and frowned slightly thinking back to that time where his entire body changed. To be honest about himself, he was not the boy that the girls knew back in Mahora academy. His body may look the same, his soul maybe the same (for now) but his flesh was not. During these past few months after he entered the academy, Negi sacrificed many things to be where he was now. His youth, his mind, his body, his strength… but one topped them all.

"I uhh… I guess if you practice a lot with it and have a lot of stamina you can last longer against the dark effects"

"I see… then I guess I will have to focus on training my body rather than my skill"

Negi looked back at the girl and couldn't help but worry even more than before. With the power of dark magic flowing through Setsuna's body, it became another part of her that she would not easily let go or let it rest. But then a thought came to Negi's head as he remembered that he still had something that might help. "Ah! I know Setsuna san" he suddenly took off the ring that Eva gave him (see chapter 166: Silence Can Be Kindness) and clenched it in his hand. He remembered how powerful the ring was and how it managed to save his rear several times before. "Here Setsuna san… this will help you" in a rare sight before her, the boy gently placed the ring in the girl's ring finger and smiled warmly at her face.

Of course this action was normal for Negi since he had been raised to be a gentleman in Wales, but for the others who witnessed it and Setsuna as well, it almost looked like he was asking her hand in marriage.

The other girls in hiding couldn't believe what they saw either. Without the volume to tell what they were saying, they could only imagine what was coming out of their mouth. "Ugh… a… a… a ring…" Kazumi whistled.

"Ne… Negi sensei… I couldn't possibly" that strange feeling that ramped through Setsuna's mind began to surface once again making her blush.

But just when things were getting hot, a voice suddenly came by to interrupt the moment. "Hey everyone it's time for dinner!" it was none other than Fumika and Fuuka who were yelling at the ship's microphone that was pretty much connected to the entire vessel. "You better come quick or Yuuna chan will eat all the food and become fat!"

"Hey!? What do you think of me? A glutton!?" came Yuuna's voice from the background. "Come back here you two and I'll make minced meat out of you!"

"Ahhh! The evil lady appears again" they replied playfully like two kindergartens in the playground.

"Ah… I guess we'd better join the others or else we'll get scolded" Negi recommended before leaving the fence with his cane stick. "I'll see you inside Setsuna san"

"H… hai… sensei" the woman replied a little dazed by the ring. With the boy gone, she couldn't help but smile happily as she viewed the ring at the distance of her hand.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ayaka fumed beyond belief as she wanted to go out there and push Setsuna down the fence with her guard down. She was being restrained by Haruna's muscleman drawing and Makie. "This is unacceptable! How could this be!? NOOO!! Negi sensei is mine you low down 3rd class bodyguard!"

"Ayaka san calm yourself please!" Makie pleaded.

"Never! As long as I live I will never accept this fate!"

"Well I guess this should be expected from the class rep" Haruna and Kazumi sighed in unison. "In the end we couldn't get a sound out of the camera. (sigh) Man… what a scoop this would be!"

"And without any viable proof, then everything is nothing more but action" Yue added.

"Yeah… I guess Yue is right. The only way to get the real thing now is that if we had some kind of mind reading…… device…" the group then turned their sharp eyes towards Nodoka who was frightened by her friend's cooing voices in hopes of letting her use her Pactio card.

**(Time skip 2 hours)**

And when the time came where everyone met in the living room, dinner went on without any interruptions at all. Everyone was acting normally just like Negi wanted it to be. Chamo was digging in his curry like a stuffed pig and everyone was enjoying their time on the return trip to the old capital of Ostia. But Negi knew well on why everyone was enjoying their lives to the max. Even though none of them realize it just yet, he knew that this may be the last happy moment they would share together in a long time to come. When the battle against Fate's army begins, there will be casualties and he knew that not everyone will be coming back alive. There will be fire, steel and iron clashing at the old capital and no one really knows if they could win.

After a few hours went by, Negi decided to stop thinking about the future and focus on the present. So without anyone noticing, he secretly requested three plates from Hatsuki's buffet table and snuck away towards the medical ward.

"Jang ken po!" Nagi and Jack said in unison as they played a silly game of rock-paper-scissors. "I win again Jackie"

"Grr! Best out of 2000!" he demanded.

"Ok… jang ken po……… I win again"

"ARGHH!! This is impossible! You have to be cheating! There's no way that you can win 2000 times in a row like this! Takahata!"

"Hey, don't bring me into your fight. I'm just trying to get some rest here" but then a knock came from the bulkhead door catching his attention. "Come in…" to their surprise, it was Negi who came in with some food on his hand. "Oh Negi kun?"

"Negi?"

"Umm… I'm sorry to disturb you, everyone. But I thought you might be hungry so I brought some food" he stated shyly like a kid walking into his new classroom full of new faces.

"Oh thanks kiddo, I was getting pretty hungry myself" Rakan grinned happily to the sight of food and began gorging on it without hesitation.

"Here, this is for you Takamichi san"

"Ah…thank you Negi" the old teacher gladly accepts the plate and smiled in return.

"A… and h… here's yours… father…" the boy said shyly handing his father his plate. The old man accepted it but still felt a bit awkward to the situation they were in. A few hours ago, they were fighting till the death and now they meet up peacefully as if nothing had happened.

"Oh… thanks… Negi" Nagi replied shyly as well. They didn't know what to say to each other at that moment so all they could do was look around in silence.

"Umm… I think I'll be going back with the others" Negi bowed and quickly departed, but before he could reach for the door, his father stopped him.

"Uh hey Negi…"

"Yes father?" the boy jerk his head around. "Is there something you need?"

"Yeah… umm… my arm hasn't fully healed yet. So why don't you stay with me for awhile just in case I slip"

Negi paused for a second not really knowing how to respond, but knowing that his father meant well he agreed. "S… sure! Of course father!" while the boy sat by his father in his sick bed, Takahata and Jack couldn't help but give them both a proud smile together. For six years these two have been separated and now they have a lot of things to catch up on.

When Nagi lifted the spoon full of curry up to his mouth, Negi held his breath hoping to get a good response. "Emmm… this stuff is good!" the boy let out his breath of relief. "Compared to what I've been eating for the past month, this is probably the first real meal I ever had. Hmm… which one of your students made this boyo?"

"Ugh… seat number 30, her name is Yotsuba Hatsuki!" Negi responded quickly. "She's in charge of the class meals and is a member of the cooking research society in Mahora"

"Oh yeah… that all girl school" Nagi remembered, "Man… I can't believe how lucky you are boyo. I have a feeling that there are a lot of men who are willing to give up everything to switch places with you right now"

"Eh? Really?"

"Definitely! If I were in your place then there wouldn't be a need to go anywhere else. (laugh) Still… I still can't believe that you've actually made a Pactio with all of your students. It kind of makes you look like a pervert if you asked me…"

"EH!?" Negi quickly waved his hand in his defense. "N… no no no no! I mean, there was no other choice! With the situation going on like this, I had to do it! It was a life or death kind of situation!"

"Hehee… just kidding boyo. You don't have to get so worked up because of some little kiss. You should consider yourself lucky since the only people I've managed to made a Pactio with are Takahata, Jack and Albireo"

"HA! That's right!" Jack laughed. "Since you made a pactio with all of us, it kind of makes you look like a bisexual dude ahahahahahaha!" Takahata also had to agree on that point as well and began chuckling.

"Hey! Don't pick on me just because I only had you guys the whole time! It was a life and death situation here!" but his sudden action tilted the bed he was on making him imbalance. "AHH!"

"Ahh! Father, please be careful! The ship isn't fully repaired yet since we left!" their actions and facial expressions were so alike that even a fool could tell that they were father and son. "Ahh! Oh no! The medical equipments!"

"Hehehehe… those two really are related…" Takahata muttered silently to himself before returning to his meal.

After they finally settled the bed and the medical cabinet back to its proper position, Nagi resumed back to his plate to enjoy that delicacy that Negi's student prepared for him. For a moment everything was fine and they soon returned to the normal state of silence. Negi twiddled with his thumbs shyly while he waited for his father to his finish, but he didn't know that he thumb twitching action made Nagi nervous as well.

"So boyo…"

"Y… yes father!?"

"Hey, don't call me that. It's embarrassing…"

"Ahh… oh… um… sorry…"

"Call me pops or just plain Nagi" he recommended a selection of names which he was usually called during his time. "Or maybe even the greatest mage of the magic world The Thousand Master Nagi Springfield!"

"That's too long!" the boy groaned in a chibi figure.

"Ahahahaha… just kidding boyo…" Negi fell uncomfortably silent giving his father time to continue, "Well anyway… I'm probably sure you have a lot of things you want to say to me, don't you?" Negi nodded shyly. "Well, I'm not going anywhere so I might as well listen. What's your first question?" Nagi was braced for the barrage of questions that were soon to fall upon him, but what came next made Jack face fault on the floor.

"I… I'm sorry father!" as I said… Jack face faulted on the floor, making a dent on the ground.

"Why the hell are you apologizing kid!" Rakan barked out in humorous anger. _"It's supposed to be him who should be apologizing! Not you!"_ he thought to himself. Nagi on the other hand was simply dumbfounded by that apology. He was expecting all sorts of stuff like a yell or a question but never an apology.

"B… because I wasn't able to control my own powers, you, Rakan and Takahata sensei got injured badly" he bowed his head like that he was seeking redemption or punishment or something of that sort. "If only I had been stronger, you wouldn't be this injured and spending the duration of the trip here in the medical ward"

A nervous vein began throbbing on Nagi's head as he was really caught off guard by this action from his son. He fought beasts six times larger than his size and monsters that would've sent chills down the spine of an army, but of all that, the only thing that managed to make him this nervous was his own son. "A… a… yeah" he said finally placing two fingers on his throbbing head. "It's good to know that you're taking responsibility for your own actions and fest up… ahehehe…"

"You're making this more complicated Nagi!" Rakan yelled. "This is stupid! It's like your roles were switched or something!"

But then Negi was surprised when he felt his father's hand on his head. "You don't need to apologize boyo. We're all alive aren't we? I think that's the most important thing right now. Besides, if I died, I definitely wouldn't be able to forgive you. Now cheer up will ya?"

"I agree" Takahata nodded placing his plate on the side of his bed. "This should be a time of celebration. Now that we have Nagi here, the war with Fate will go a lot smoother"

"And from what I just heard from Al, the dragon knights from the south are joining in the fight as well" Rakan added with a thumbs up sign. "Combined with the rest of the giants, demons and soldiers that you've gathered kiddo, we practically have the entire magic world on our backs. Hmmm… maybe I should just sit back and let everyone else do all the killing"

"Rakan san! That's terrible of you!" Negi pleaded.

"Hey I was just kidding" the swordsman laughed it out. "I still owe you for not completing my last mission anyway. Those girls were really tough. If I didn't surrender that time, who knows what might've happened" he muttered that last sentence so the others wouldn't hear.

"Hehehehe… that's Jack for ya" Nagi added earning him a glare from his former companion. "Always the material guy"

"Hey at least I'm a man who follows his own code!"

With that done, Nagi turned to his son. "Anyway Negi… I think I should be the one apologizing to you. I guess I was gone for so long that I missed a lot of your years. Why don't you tell me about yourself? What've you been doing for the past few months?"

"Other than fighting for his life everyday and cheating death once or twice. I can't really say for sure" Rakan answered for him.

"Oi! You're ruining the moment Jack! (sigh) So… what have you been doing?"

"Ah well! Umm… where should I start!? Oh I know, that time when we first went to Kyoto! Oh no, how about the time when I first came to Mahora? Oh no that's probably too boring. Oh! How about the time during the festival? Ah no… it's probably too confusing if you explain. Then how about… no… then what about… ah no… it's probably too confusing for me to understand either. What about…?"

While the boy tried to find a subject to choose, Jack couldn't help but let out a mother of sweat drop down his head. "I feel like I'm watching a cheesy family comedy movie that I rented from the 2nd hand store"

After awhile, Negi decided to tell his father about his students instead. Luckily for him, he still had his class roster with him and which made it easier to point out who was who. To say the least, his father was impressed. All of the girls were pretty and from he heard from Negi, many of them had their own unique talents and personality. Some were wealthy some were classy, some were odd (in a good way) and some were skilled in many ways. If he was in Negi's shoes, he wouldn't be able to pick just one.

But when he saw Asuna's face on the roster, he stopped Negi from continuing. "Hey is that?"

"Ah… that's Asuna san" Negi answered.

"The Twilight Imperial Princess" Rakan finished puffing a smoke from Takahata's cigarette box.

"She's in your class too? Well this is a surprise. I would've nice to see her again"

"Yeah…" Negi said dejected. He then decided to explain everything that had happened when Asuna was captured and replaced by Fate's spy, Shiori. Indeed the plan looked solid and Nagi had to admit that he too would've fell for the same trick if it was used on him.

"I see…… so she was captured…"

"We tried to rescue her a few weeks ago, but… we…"

"Fate had an escape route planned" Takahata continued. "When we stormed the old capital with a small battalion of soldiers we managed to corner him at the center of the capital plaza. But just when we thought we had him, he used a one shot mass teleportation spell to travel escape our grasp. It was a clever plan so we couldn't see it in time"

"But that guy…" Rakan groaned. "He didn't just transfer himself and his cronies, but the entire plaza as well. The center of the ruins is nothing more but a well carved crater"

"In other words, you got your ass handed down to you?" Nagi humored.

"Oi, if it weren't for these bandages, I would've pounded you by now" a vein throbbed on Rakan's head irritatingly.

"But as long as we have the tower of Dawn, then they can't do anything!" Negi reminded them. "That's why we have to rescue Asuna before Fate takes action. Without her, his plans will fail completely"

"Wow… that's a pretty straight forward plan you got there boyo" Nagi raised an impressed brow. "But just how do you intend to do that? You did say that Fate is raising his army in another dimension right? And the only way to get there is through a portal which can only be activated from the inside, right?"

"That's true, but Fate was able to get it open from this side of the dimension using a powerful cancelation spell. I plan on doing the same, so we can rescue Asuna"

"If that was your plan from the start, then why'd bother assemble such a host?"

"Oh that?" Rakan smirked. "That's just a backup plan in case something might happen. Negi thought of that on his own. In case if something should happen he couldn't risk losing the old capital of Ostia. So you could say that army he assembled is just for reassurance"

"Wow brilliant boyo. You thought of everything. I knew you had it in you"

"T… thank you f… father" Negi lowered his head shyly. "But still… if only I had seen it earlier then maybe we could've prevented all of this. If I could've helped Asuna or stop Fate from getting the crown of Twilight, none of this could've (BONK!) Oww!"

"Hey now, apologizing about it won't solve anything now, would it?" Nagi fathered him with a little knock on the head. "What's passed is passed, the only to make things better is to solve it yourself"

"But…"

"No 'Buts'!" he insisted. "The moment you start apologizing without a resolve then nothing will change. And besides… I didn't want a son who would submit so easily" he scratched his son on the head giving out that fatherly feeling.

Negi smiled for the first time at his dad, "Heh… I guess I can't argue with you after all. So what about you father? Tell me what you've been doing for the past few months?"

"Nah I don't feel like telling. It's too long and there's barely any action or suspense in it"

The boy turned to his angry chibi form. "What! That's so unfair father! I told you so much about myself!"

"Yeah, but I heard most of your students from T.K and he isn't much of a story teller. Why don't you tell me one of your good stories? I'm sure you must've had one or two"

"Well… there… isn't really much to say" Negi explained twitching his thumbs again. "It's just that… I spent six years searching for you and I didn't expect you to show yourself up like that. I was just focused on looking for you that I don't really know what to do afterwards"

"Then I guess that fight we just had was all just an accident?" Nagi sweat dropped heavily.

"AH! No no! I was just umm… a little…… I…… I…… I don't know anymore (long pause) It's just that… this is the first time I actually got to speak to you in person. I mean… you are my father, but I barely know anything about you other than your exploits during the war twenty years ago. (pause) I wanted to talk to you so badly and to be honest I would've prepared a whole speech for you. But now I got to meet you… face to face… I finally realize what I actually wanted (Negi faces his father) I wanted to know… why… why did you leave me alone with Nakene san in that village? Where did you go? Why didn't you at least tell me how you were doing… I…… I just wanted to know if you were ok…" tears began to form around the young mage's eyes as years of endless burden began to surface over his body. "Why… didn't you tell me… anything… (sob)"

"Negi…" at that very moment, Nagi could see how much the boy had been wanting to see him. How much he was willing to go just to see his face again. To be honest this was probably the total opposite of what Nagi wanted to happen. He only wanted Negi to be a regular boy, perhaps grow up as a good, hard working mage without any doubts or worries. To find a girl that he would stay with for the rest of his life and raise a family of his own. To live happily without a father he never knew. But now… that future was gone and with that, Negi became something far greater than what the Thousand Master could never even foresee.

"I… I'm sorry (sob)" Negi tried to contain his tears but he was failing. "I know I shouldn't apologize or cry like this. It makes me look like a kid again (sob) I just wished (sob) I just wished that we could just be a normal family (sob) And that none of this would've ever happened (sob!) I just wished you didn't have to leave me… just to protect me…"

The tears were the last straw…

Biting his lips, he made lunge towards his son, putting him into a heartwarming embrace.

"It's alright Negi…" he called out to him with a whisper. "It's alright… my son. You have carried so many burdens in you that it had remained solid in your heart until now. So please… let my shoulder be yours to cry on. Let me be the one to lift your soul. Let your sorrows wash away and your sadness cleansed for I swear… that I will never leave you again. This I promise you. (pause) As your father… I love you to the very bottom of my soul. Please… I… I beg of you to find it in your heart to forgive this foolish father of yours! I… I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything I have done!"

Negi sat there shock of what he heard from his father. "Papa…?" the word came more like a question than a title. His eyes were red and his skin, pale and vulnerable like that of a lost child. The tears that he tried to hold back burst out, rolling uncontrollably down his face. "Papa…" He then wrapped his arms around Nagi's chest and held it tightly like he would never let it go. "Papa!" he cried brokenly and it was not in his voice that he spoke, but the long forgotten voice of a child who had only felt the loneliness of time… and longing for someone to finally come and take him…

His tears of joy and sadness ran madly on the soft tunic below, followed by constant crying noise that you would hear from a ten year old boy.

"It's alright Negi" he soothed him with a gentle rub on his head. "I'm here now… I'm here…"

Takahata could never have asked for a better reunion than this for Negi and his father. He only wished that he and Rakan were not there to witness such a touching moment to make the mood better. With a smile of content and a single tear falling through his glasses, the old mage lay back on his bed and relaxed knowing that tomorrow was going to be a beautiful day.

Jack on the other hand could only wish that he had a camera to record that moment. To have Negi and Nagi crying in a perfect scene could be sold for a million copies throughout the magical world. Heck he even planned to make a memory record again just to watch this scene again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

But unknown to all of them was that Negi students were eavesdropping just outside the bulkhead door. Kazumi had managed to sneak one of her hovering cameras (her Pactio) through the area and broadcast it on a wide screen hologram where everyone could see the tear jerking scene perfectly.

"Congrats… Negi kun" Kazumi smiled proudly her tears falling down slightly.

"Negi bozu… good work" Kaede and Ku Fei said in unison also crying in their own way.

"Negi sensei…!" the cheer leaders and the remaining members of the class burst into a happy cry that night, some blowing their noses in joy for the boy's reunion.

"WAHHHH ANIKI I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR BEING A BURDEN TO YOU!!!" Chamo sneezed through a hankie with two waterfalls of tears pouring down his eyes.

And so it came to pass that Negi was finally reunited with father, Nagi, the Thousand Master. But their reunion will not last long… for tomorrow, on the brink of dawn, the battle against Fate will finally begin…


	4. The Plan and Old Man

**Chapter 4: The Plan and Old Man**

**(Paru's Ship Bridge)**

Haruna whistled happily that morning as she personally drove her ship through the skies of the magic world. She has always been fascinated by the discovery of magic and ever since Negi entered in her life nothing has ever been the same. Flying cities, dragons of the great beyond, magical creatures of a totally different world, even the adventure she was having was one of a kind. She considered herself to be the lucky few who managed to experience such an event.

"Zzzzt…" a noise came from her radio. She picked it up and awaited the speaker to continue, "Attention approaching vessel, this is the Kan of the 45th Ostian republic flee. You are entering dangerous space. This area is under the control of the Ostian-Hellian coalition force. Identify yourself or turn around and find another route to your destination"

The manga artist grinned and replied. "Oi oi, this is Paru sama! We have just returned on our successful mission with Negimaru! Mind giving us a little escort?"

"Ah Paru sama!" the captain of the other vessel spoke with glee. "Welcome back madam, Albireo Imma sent word that you would be arriving today. Please come on in. I'll inform the other patrol ships to grant you entry so there shouldn't be any problem"

"Thanks captain!"

"Ahh… but can you do me a little favor Haruna dono? (Eh?) CAN I PLEASE HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH!?"

"Yeah me too!"

"And me!"

"How about a photo? One shot will do! My sister is a big fan of your works Paru sama!" the crew of the ship shouted in agreement as well. After becoming such a famous warrior and an artesian and not to mention a comic book artist in the magic world, Paru had become renowned in country of Ostia along with her other friends.

"Tee hee, ok maybe later then" she agreed. "I'll see you all at the docking ports later tonight"

"Yay!!"

After closing off the radio and letting out a small and happy smirk, Haruna turned to her wide range speaker and shouted. "Attention passengers of the Paru airlines, we are now approaching the old capital of Ostia, but since this is not your regular standard flight, you are not required to use seatbelts or any safety gears for that choice. We would like to thank all of you for choosing Paru airlines, please disembark at your convenience and the captain Haruna would like to thank you and wish you a safe trip. Good bye" the way she spoke was like that of flight attendant's voice.

"Oi… this isn't a pleasure cruise you know…" Yue groaned at her since she was the only one with her at the time.

But when the broadcast was finished, the students of class 3-A quickly ran out towards the balcony area to get a grand view of the place. The old capital of Ostia stood solemnly on the floor of the earth, battered, beaten and rotting slowly. But what amazed them the most would probably be the coalition force base camp which was settled just a few kilometers from the old ruined city. There were tents and pavilions of different shapes, colors and sizes, there were ships ranging from a standard transport vessel to a Titan class battle seeker class cruiser and there were sentient of all kinds roaming the camp.

"Wow…" Konoka let out a happy gasp. "No matter how many times I see this scene, it never fails to take my breath away"

"I agree de gozaru" Kaede nodded proudly. "Negi bozu spent a lot of time and influence on assembling this host together. He wasted no effort on making his perfect full proof plan and I have to say that this feat is incredible… even for a ten year old"

"I he's not your average ten year old teacher teehee" Konoka let out a soft chuckle. "I have a good feeling after this is all over, Negi kun will become a great magister magi"

"Hey he's already a great mage, and a swordsman too if I may add de gozaru. Oh speaking of Negi… where is he anyway?" the kunoichi looked around trying to find the young child teacher. "I thought he would be awake by now"

"Oh he's probably sleeping with his pop right now" answered Rakan who just arrived on scene. "Honestly those two. Even though they're the most powerful mages I've seen on this side of life they sure act childish. That teacher of yours cried himself to sleep and Nagi stood up all night just to say how sorry he was. Man… what a tear jerking moment that was. I think Takahata may have let out a tear or two"

"Ah… I guess this is a time for a father and son moment" Kaede smiled. "But I guess we can allow him to rest today. After finding what he's been searching for six years, he deserves to have some time alone with his old man"

But she was quickly drawn away from the view as she heard Jack snickering like he had a plot in mind. "Oh yes indeed. Because now… I have a commemorative photo of father and son special moment!" he quickly showed the gang of a lovely photo with Negi and Nagi sleeping on one bed, their hands holding and the son's face nuzzled closely in the father's chest. "Beat that Ricardo!" once the girls caught sight of that photo, they couldn't help but go 'Awwww…' altogether. To see their teacher in such a cute pose with his daddy made him look like a ten year old boy.

"Aww, Negi looks so cute in that picture" Konoka squealed.

"You're right" Makie nodded, "It really shows the childish side of him"

"Oh… you're right de gozaru. I never knew that he could actually show such a cute face. Makes me wish I was ten again"

"Yeah aru!"

"I agree" Setsuna nodded. "He can turn from a mighty warrior to a leader to a teacher and to a ten year old boy in a blink of an eye" but then she suddenly wondered why would Rakan have such a photo with him.

...

...

...

...

"You're planning to blackmail this to them... aren't you?"

"Oh... you catch on pretty quick young lady"

"Ojou sama, this picture is a scandal" Setsuna urged, "You shouldn't be interested in such items. Such things are just items in which Rakan would blackmail or sell for his own personal profit. I believe Negi would never allow this thing to go without notice so I suggest that we just leave that picture as it… is?" but of course her speech of reason was dashed away when Rakan suddenly pulled out a podium from the back and began auctioning the picture.

"Alright, we'll start the bit with fifty thousand. Any takers? (raise) Yes you with the cute hair! Alright sixty, sixty, anyone going for a sixty? (raise) Right Makie raises it to sixty, let's go to seventy!"

"Ooo! Me me me!" Konoka waved her hand in joy. "I put in one-fifty if that's alright with you!"

"EH!?" the other gasped in shock. But Rakan simply had dollar signs on his eyes. "Oh! Since when were you rich young mistress?"

"Ahh no I don't have the money" came her innocent reply, "I was just wondering if you could bill my grandfather afterwards" everyone on the bridge face faulted except for Rakan and Kotaro who didn't understand why they would go through such length just for a picture.

"OJOU SAMA!!"

"Ooh… like a check you mean?" Jack smirked. "Very well then, I agree! The picture is sold to Konoka Konoe for 150 thousand Congratulations!"

"Yay!"

"Ojou sama! Were you even listening to me!?"

"Oh hi there Set chan. Look what I got! A cute picture of Negi. Isn't it lovely?"

"Ojou sama! Please listen to what you're saying! Do you realize that you just got your grandfather 150 thousand worth in debt!? Rakan is serious about the payment!"

"I know, but take a look, look!" Setsuna was about pull her hair at that moment. But when her eyes caught sight of the picture, Negi's cute face made her face go red.

"Ah… ah… ahhh… I…"

"Oi, everyone we're about to make a landing. Watch out and don't fall off now or you'll be hearing from me" Haruna shouted through the speaker. And to her truth, the docks of the camp soon came to sight. "Oh by the way Rakan san (hmm?) NO SMOKING ALLOWED ON MY SHIP!!! This is a strictly none smokeing flight! If I see just one cigarette butt on any parts of the ship, I will personally make sure you go overboard!"

Takahata, who was luckily out of the young girl's sight quickly hid his cigarette pack and doused the one he was smoking then. He didn't want to get on the bad side of any of the girls in this class because if he did then his health would suffer a lot worse than ten packs of cigarettes.

When the ship finally landed at the docks of the base camp, Negi and his students were greeted by a battalion of soldiers along with Ricardo and the tomboy princess of the Hellas empire, Theodora. They were the ones who backed the boy up when he requested the aid of the nation's might. To be honest, both countries were indeed reluctant to assist Negi at first seeing that he was still a wanted mage and that the enemy he was talking about was just one survivor of an old enemy. But when Fate's plans were exposed to them, they finally realize just how dangerous he was to their existence.

"Hey there Negi kun" Ricardo spoke out first with his usual wide smile. "How was your trip? Did you enjoy your little vacation?"

"Ah Ric san" the boy greeted back. "Ah well… we didn't exactly go on a vacation you know"

"Ha! I know I was just being cheerful! Because I'm sure you had fewer wounds when you left camp two days ago. If this is how you spend your vacation then I definitely have to be there when you go to battle HA!"

"Yeah" Rakan laughed. "His vacations are full danger and excitement Ricardo. You should try it too sometimes. It will actually make you feel young again"

"Oh hey there Jack. You look you went through hell itself" Ricardo grimmed at his wounds.

"Hey if I can survive hell then the living world will be nothing more but child's play HAHAHA!"

"Alright enough with the small talk!" Theodora groaned at the old legendary swordsman. "Did you find the guy or not? We've been postponing our attack plan for three days now just waiting for you guys!"

"Oh tomboy princess, wazzup?"

"Don't wazzup me Jack! You and Takahata went off with our best soldiers and Takahata without even telling us and you come back full of bruises!? What if Fate decided to ambush you on your way here!? Our strength level would plummet!"

"Best Soldiers?" Ayaka raised a quizzical look.

"Ahh yes… that's the princess for you" Takahata answered with a sweat drop on his head. "I guess to her… you girls are nothing more but soldiers to be put in the front line… ahehehehe"

"Well… that's royalty for you" Chisame muttered annoyingly.

"So!? Where is he?! That guy who's supposed to be dead!?" the princess barked. "I liked to see his face just so I can send him back to the afterlife again!" but as she scanned around looking for the Thousand Master in question, she felt a hand tap over her head. "Eh?"

"Oh… is this Theodora?" Nagi stated appearing out of nowhere. "My my, you're just as feisty as you were twenty years ago! Look how tall you've grown"

"Ah… ah… ah…" Theodora was in shock. She just said that was going to kill the man and now he was standing right in front of her like a demi-god. "AHHH!! YOU! The Thousand Master, Nagi Springfield!" his name swept the entire camp like a tidal wave crashing down on the beach in Utah. When Nagi's face appeared, the soldiers that stood idly began shouting his name in disbelief. Nagi, the one who returned from the dead, the Thousand Master who saved the world… was standing right in front of them.

"Nagi?"

"The Nagi Springfield!?"

"Oh my god he looks so much cuter in person" said a female knight.

"And that feint beard makes him look all the manlier…" her companion agreed. Whispers and mutters went on as the man's face became more and more apparent. The legedary hero who was supposedly said to be dead, was back and he was alive.

"Hey there princess, long time no see" Nagi smiled in his childish manner. "Boy you've really grown since I last saw you. When we first met, you were just a shrimp back then. About yay high... if I recall"

"Don't call me shrimp!" Theodora barked back childishly. "You sound just like Jack you know that!? And what's with you going into hiding and dying!? It made me look stupid holding a feast for your funeral!"

"Ahh yeah sorry about that. It's kind of a long story (which I don't want to explain) Why don't you ask Negi instead? He knows everything"

"Eh? Me?" the boy pointed to himself.

"Oh that also reminds me" Nagi popped his hands together. "The princess must be thirty years old now right? But according to Hellas rules, you're equivalent to a ten years human. Hey Negi, why don't you marry her instead and become part of the royal family?"

"EH?!" Negi's students gapped their mouths. If the princess should join in the rivalry than all hope of making Negi their bride will be lost. They're talking about a princess here. She could do anything! She has everything. Political power, dominance over an entire country, a personal army to do her every bidding, wealth beyond a man's wildest dream. That would be something hard to topple.

"WHAT?! Nagi you poop dripper! Come back here I'll rip your head off!" the princess gave chase to the man trying to hide the mad blush that was forming on her cheeks.

"Ah... the princess is mad at me again" Nagi laughed all the way.

"AH! Father, please don't be like that" Negi yelled at him embarrassed by his father's childish behavior. "You're embarrassing me in front of everyone! Wait! Father!"

"Ahehehehe…" Albireo sweat dropped. "Looks like he hasn't changed at all. Same old Nagi san"

But of course, the two of them didn't stop. They just continued on playing without a care who was watching them. "Ah! They're playing in the mud! Father, you'll get your robes all dirty!" as Negi tried to stop the two bickering adults from causing a bigger scene, he was suddenly pulled in to the fight with mud poured all over him. "Wahhh!?"

"Ah hey boyo, nice of you to join the game" his father humored.

"Father! This isn't the time to be playing in the mud! We have more important things to do!"

"Oh come on boyo, a little fun in the mud won't hurt anyone. Right princess?"

"Come a little closer and I might just reconsider that statement!" was her growling answer.

"But father! (Bonk!) Ageee!" Nagi bonked the boy on the head.

"Hey… didn't we agree not to call me that anymore?" he reminded him. "Call me pops or Nagi or any nickname that suits you because 'father' makes me sound old"

"No way!" the boy yelled rejecting. "That would be rude especially to you! I want to call you what I want and I pick father!" he slab a chunk of mud on Nagi's cape letting out a small bubble of tear on the corner of his eye.

"Ahh! Hey now that was foul play! Using your cute childish act just to put down my guard!"

"But father, this is serious! We need to discuss a plan! Why are you being so stubborn!?"

"ME!? You're the one insisting and bringing me here against my own will!"

"You came on your own free will!"

"Oh yeah…"

The other members who were part of the war could not help but to laugh at the scenery before them. To think that the two most powerful mages in the world and the princess of the Hellas Empire would be playing in the mud in such a childish way was completely unbeknownst to many.

"Ahh… look at that… Negi is being all cute again" Konoka giggled. "Even when he's angry he's still cute"

"I agree" Yuuna nodded.

"But playing in the mud looks like fun!" Fumika and Fuuka cheered in their kindergarten outfits. "Hey Negi sensei, can we play too? We want to play in the mud too you know"

"Ugh… even when we're facing the end, they still act childish" Chimase massaged her temples to this situation. "Do these people ever take a situation seriously?"

But just when they were all having their good laughs together, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in from the far off distance, catching Negi's attention. "NEGIIIIII!!!!" it was none other than Anya, the boy's childhood friend.

"Ah… Anya… san? GACKKK!!"

"Anya Overhead Kiiiiick!" wham! The girl rushed to the boy with amazing speed like a bullet fired from a .45 pistol. Her foot connected with the boy's face, plummeting him down to the mud like a block of sandbag. "Negi baka Negi!" she screamed at him like a worried mother. "You went on your own again without telling me!? (A… Anya san…) Don't you Anya san me! Haruna and the others said that you were going on a 2 day vacation in 'a far away land that I can't pronounce' and then an hour later someone told me that you were looking for your father again!"

"Oh yeah… I forgot about that" Haruna chibily remembered the little white lie she told Anya the day before they left.

"B… but Anya san…" Negi tried to reason but all hopes of voicing was thrown away by Anya's barrage of worried insults.

"And now two days later you come back looking like an undead mummy from one of those movies I saw back in London! What did you do!? Did you fight some sort monster again just to get stronger!? Tell me you dim wit or I'll beat it out of you!"

"Ano… could that be… little Anya?" Nagi spoke out.

"Be quiet! I'm not talking to you old man! And who the hell are you, to imitate Negi's older self!?" Anya barked at the Thousand Master clearly not knowing who he really was due to her rage. "And who are you to call me Anya chan!? Poser!"

"Ah… Anya san" Negi recomposed himself before gesturing to his father with a graceful hand. "Allow me to introduce to you, the Thousand Master himself. Nagi Springfield… my father"

…

…

…

…

Processing information…

…

…

…

…

…

"Eh?"

Compressing and extracting information…

…

…

"EHHHHH!!!!" she finally realized her faulty and began trembling in fear of the man's presence. "Negi! You must be joking! This old man!?"

"Hey, I'm not that old you know" Nagi sighed.

"Yes, he's my father. Can't you see the resemblance?" Negi pointed at the hair and face.

"_Holy jumping kami Christmas biscuits!"_ the young sorceress screamed in her mind in panic mode. _"I hit Negi kun right in front of his dad! And not to mention I bad mouthed him on our first meeting in ages! Crap crap crap crap! This is not good for my image! What can I do? Uh… let's see 1: Apologize Honestly 2: Pretend it was a joke 3: Run away and never show face again 4: Become a priest and hope for the best?"_

Seeing that she looked frightened, Nagi placed his hand on top of the girl's head and compared her height with Negi's. "Wow it really is you Anya chan!" he laughed. "You probably don't recognize me because I only saw you when you were still in your cradle. And now that you mentioned it, you must be at least a year older than Negi, right?"

"Y… yes!?" she answered reluctantly.

"Ahh now I remember. You studied with him during your time at the academy" Nagi bowed politely to her like a princess on a throne. "I thank you for taking care of Negi while studying in Wales. You don't know how much I appreciate it. I know Negi may be a problem, but please bear with him (WHAT!?)"

Anya became all flustered as she tried to wave it off. "Ah! No not at all! He's no problem at all! I should be the one apologizing! Please don't bow your head like that, you're embarrassing me!"

"Father! What do you mean I'm a problem!?"

Again, another funny moment came to light as the gang laughed it all out. But just when the tension was about to die down, Negi felt a cold chill run down his spine as a familiar dark aura loamed his back. The boy knew that feeling well as he had learned to dread that aura during his time in Mahora academy. That irresistible lust for blood, that sickening feel of imprisonment, and that dark killing intent of a vampire that longed for freedom. The aura of an angry, slightly pissed off Evangeline A.K. McDowell.

"Hee hee hee hee hee… welcome back… boyo…" the young-semi-old vampire grinned evilly like a monster waiting for its prey to take the bait.

"E… e… Evangeline san?"

Eva was about to lung at him and suck his blood dry but Chachamaru stopped her. "I'm sorry master, but we have other duties to discuss, remember?"

"Tch… yeah I remember" she licked her fangs then turned to the boy and his father. "Oi, Thousand Mustard and boyo. Head on over to the main tent. Now that you two are here we can discuss our final preparations" she quickly waved herself off towards the briefing room, but not before giving out a strange glare at his pupil.

"Eh?" Negi caught the glare and wondered if he had done something to anger her. "Oh man… what did I do this time?" he trembled in panic, fearing what will come next. "She looked pretty angry at me"

**(White Citadel) (Throne room) (Breakfast time)**

It was breakfast time for Fate and his followers that morning. Even though they were a group bent on 'saving' the world, they were still mortals. They still needed food to replenish their stamina and rest to build up their strength. Shirabe, the violinist was eating alongside her compatriot Koyomi and Tamaki, the half-breed duos. Shiori, the copying mage was also with her friend Homura eating bacon and eggs for the day. Fate on the other hand was still sitting on the throne with a table in front of him and Asuna on the other side, sipping tea like she always do every morning.

'Shirabe' means 'Search'

'Homura' means 'Flame'

'Shiori' means 'Bookmark'

'Koyomi' means 'Calendar'

'Tamaki' means 'Bracelet'

A/N: If you are wondering about these characters, they can be found in Mahou Sensei Negima Chapter 215: Begin! Operation Return-to-the-Real-World

Surprisingly, there was a chess board at the center of the table of the table which they both shared, but many of the pieces were scattered and unfamiliar. Asuna glanced occasionally from her plate to the board like she was expecting some sort of development. "You seem nervous Kagurazaka Asuna" Fate brought her out of her focus from the board. "Is there something bothering you?"

"No… not really…" she replied somewhat tensed.

"Your voice denies your words" Fate marked on the spot. "Are you that excited to see the ending? Or are you worried that you will meet 'him' on the battlefield" Asuna's face fiercely pinched like she was trying to compose herself. "Ah… it appears I have hit the mark on the spot. (snicker) It appears you still fancy yourself as his personal knight in shining armor. You really should learn to let go. It's not healthy to have such thought cloud your judgment"

"I know that…" she placed her teacup back on the table and sighed depressingly. "More green tea please…" she ordered the butler golem which it gladly gave. "Thank you…"

"I'm surprised you thought about making a personal army of servants first Kagurazaka san. With them, our work has become quite simple"

"That's because a certain Cat girl always makes a mess out of the place" she gave out a feint hint towards Koyomi who flinched upon her nickname being sounded. "But putting that aside… I seem to have achieved the golem that you designed"

"Oh? Splendid. How many did you make?"

"A few thousand for a test run" she replied coolly. "However I needed the body to be faster to match up with the strength and skill so they will look different from the rest of the golem army. They're also a bit incomplete since I need to design the weapons and armor for them"

"Interesting… may I see one? I would like to witness how you managed to make my vision come to life"

"Certainly…" she placed her tea cup down and focused her strength on her crown. "Unit 00001, come…" immediately a golem in the shape of Chachamaru appeared, but oddly enough it was nude.

"AH!" the girls of Fate cried out like they were in the red light district strip club or something. "Asuna! What were you thinking making a stripper as a fighting machine?"

"Perhaps she plans on making the enemy surrender with pervertness" Shiori suggested.

"Take it easy… geeze, I did say it was incomplete" the twilight princess reasoned.

"Did you make it the way I wanted?" Fate sounded a bit unbelieving. "It looks pretty fragile compared to the others you've made for the past weeks"

"If you're not satisfied then why don't you test them out yourself?" Asuna challenged him to which Fate groaned upon. He quickly agreed and moved up to the android and observe its specs. To say the least he was impressed on the details Asuna put into it. The body texture and muscles looked so real that there was actually a two percent chance that the Ostian army would surrender just by looking at them. "Hey, stop starring like that. It's rude even though it is just a golem"

"I'm sorry. I was just observing what you put in them" he explained still with a cool and collected face. "I see that you've added extra titanium alloy in their skin making them more versatile and increasing its defense against physical attacks. But now… the real test begins…" he placed his palm at the chest of the golem and chanted a spell. "Ingresto Vex…" a moment of silence occurred. The girls expected something flashy to happen, but to their surprise… nothing showed up.

"Eh? Was that a dud spell master Fate?" Koyomi tilted her head in question.

But on Fate's side… he was astounded. He felt something… like a hallow nothingness, a dead empty space of magic. "Yes… this is it…" he smiled evilly but with a little hint of a nervous fear behind it. "This is exactly what I wanted. Hehehehehehe… Very impressive Asuna. To make such a creature in such a short time deserves praise. With this… nothing… not even the Thousand Master… will be able to stop me" he snickered out a laugh. "Hehehehe… AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" the whole world will now tremble at the might of Fate's new army.

Will Negi's strength be enough?

**(Ostia-Hellas Coalition force main camp) (Briefing room)**

The tenseness of the briefing room could not be easily explained by the students of class 3-A when they entered the tent. All they could hear was the muttering and murmuring of generals and leaders that came to aid Negi in his fight against Fate. They all took their seats around the briefing area and awaited the two highest people in command. Ricardo and Theodora. Negi and his father along with the other remaining members of Ala Alba remained on the sides like advisors for the war.

"Ahem…" the princess of Hellas spoke up. "I believe you all know why I have summoned you here. You all know that during the war that occurred twenty years ago, an organization ran the charades of attack throughout our country, making us fight one another while they plot their heinous scheme in destroying the magic world. But of course we were able to prevent that disaster from occurring again with our combined might and a little help from the famous Ala Alba" Nagi gave out a self nod. "But unfortunately a survivor of that war has resurfaced and has begun moving without our notice and he seeks to redo the tragedy that had befallen the city you see outside this tent. You all remember what happened when the old capital fell to the surface. (dramatic pause) I do not need to ask how many friends and family you have lost during that chaos for I too have suffered the same. I have lost my friends in the old capital and the experience alone was too much for me to bear. (pause) And so… we are gathered here today… to prevent that madness from ever happening again! Now that our true enemy is exposed to us, we will deliver a quick and merciless blow to his forces and bring an end to the threat of our world!" a round of applause followed soon after with several whistles and nods from the other half breeds.

"Wow…" Negi looked at the princess astounded. "That speech was amazing. I guess she isn't called a princess for nothing after all"

It was then Ricardo took the stage. "Now that we have that done. Let's get on with the briefing" a hologram of the old ruined city suddenly appeared at the center of the room. "As of the moment we hold a firmly tight grip on the old capital of Ostia where the tower of Dawn is located. Our enemy, Fate Averruncus's original plan was to use the princess of twilight and use a mass cancelation spell with an AOE (Area of Effect) of fifty kilometers on every major city in the magic world. (murmur) But fortunately we have the tower of Dawn in our hands so without it he cannot use the spell" the screen then changed to the scenery of the White Citadel where Fate and his army prep themselves for battle. "Unfortunately however, the enemy was able to elude our capture attempts and withdrew himself to the ancient fortress of Asgard"

"Ass guard?" Kotaro snickered at the name.

"It's Asgard" Negi corrected. "It's an old mythological place from the Norse legends meaning capital or the birthplace of gods"

"Oh…"

"Our information on this fortress is however very limited" Ricardo continued. "All we know that there is only one exit ground but six entrances that surrounds the city of the old capital. Which means whichever gate we take will only lead to the same position… which is in front of the White Citadel" the general groaned as he knew the next part would be hard to explain. "Right now our troops have set up defensive lines around each gate and constantly patrolling its borders to prevent any of the enemy from probing our defenses"

"Why don't we just destroy the portals then?" one of the officers recommended. "Can't we just destroy them and trap the in there forever?" the others muttered in agreement to the plan.

"That was our first attempt" he explained. "But each of the portals are protected with high level magical barriers which repels nearly every attack at long range. And even if we send a ship close enough to do damage, it would immediately be sliced in half by the defense unit that pours out from the portal" a cycle of uncertain murmurs echoed the room making the place a bit tensed.

"Then why don't we just destroy the tower of Dawn?" the demon lord suggested. "You said that Fate guy needed this tower to cast the spell right? So if we just destroyed it then his plan is useless"

Many others agreed to this and even Ricardo too if it weren't for the reason behind it. "That wouldn't work either" he stated. "Apparently the tower of Dawn holds an unstable amount of magical at the foot of the tower. If the tower was to be destroyed then that energy will leak out becoming the rawest form of magic. And if it does get destroyed, everything within a fifty mile radius would be incinerated in a blink of an eye. From Ostia to Heaven's Hill to the Hellas Empire will be nothing more but a smoking ruin. I've requested the aid of the magic guild in removing the feint traces of magic, but it will probably take them a year or so just to get half way done" it was probably like a ticking time bomb to those who understood the concept of magic.

"So… what do we do then?" another voice riled in.

Ricardo composed himself again before answering. "The princess of Hellas and I have agreed on a plan. We will take Fate's army head on (gasps!) But of course, the main battle that will be fought the areas around the city will only be a distraction. While the majority of the enemy is focused on us, a small team will use a loop hole within the enemy's defenses and attack the fortress from within"

"_You can say it's our plan"_ Theodora groaned annoyingly in her head. _"But the one who thought of it all was that kid"_ she eyed the little boy at the corner of her eye like she was trying to see some hint of fear. _"Hmph… for a kid like him to order me around. He'd make a good king if he was in a royal family. (pause) Wait! What the hell am I thinking!?"_

"Then why don't we just rush our army through that dent on their defense?" an officer questioned.

"We cannot" the general answered. "Apparently the loop hole in Asgard is a onetime use only and sadly it is not big enough to accommodate more than forty people. The one who will be leading this team will be none other than Negi Springfield, which I believe all of you know already" the boy in question tensed to the mere mention of his name. "He and his partners will charge into the fort and complete two tasks. 1. To find and destroy the crown of Twilight which controls the golem army. Without it, the enemy's strength will weaken and then we will have a chance of destroying the portals that leads into the fortress. Second, is to stop Fate Averruncus… at any cost"

The plan was a bold one to say the least even for Negi. To slip into enemy territory with no backup would be considered a suicide mission if he wasn't bringing his students and the most powerful allies he has able to gather for the past week. With the strongest punch gathered in one spot, maybe… just maybe… they would be able to win without taking any loses. It was a hope… perhaps even a mad and insane hope… that he was wishing for.

In all that planning… no other voice spoke up to question it…

**(Time skip 1 hour)**

'Then the plan is agreed upon. We will attack Asgard in three days time' Those were the final words Ricarco spoke out before dismissing the meeting. Once the leaders and officers were out, Negi and his friend gathered around their own private tent to discuss some other menial topics.

"Haaa… what a relief" the boy genius let out a relieving sigh. "For a moment there I thought that plan would stir up an argument amongst them. I'm glad no one had to fight"

"I doubt any of them would fight Negi sama" Setsuna chuckled. "Since you were the one who made that brilliant plan I'm sure everyone thought 'This plan will work' or something like that"

"Eh, but it was Ricardo san who explained it to them" he gestured to the general who stood next to him. "He said that he and the princess made the plan so they should get the credit"

"Oh Negi please, you flatter me" Ricardo smirked.

But Rakan simply laughed. "Ha! Please! That was probably just a political act in case some journalist or reporter came by for the scoop. Didn't you see the look on their faces? They already knew that you were the one who made the plan so no one argued about it. Besides, this tomboy princess and that lazy starfish head can't come up with such a simple yet affective plan like yours"

"Who are you calling starfish, muscles brain!!?"

"But anyway Negi" Nagi interrupted. "How do you intend to get passed the third dimension?"

"Oh that one is a bit complicated" he answered. "You see… when Fate used that one time mass teleportation spell, I was able to save some of its energy before it disappeared completely. At first I thought I could use this to chase after him, but I needed time to repair the spell incantation so I've been saving it for just this moment"

"It'll probably be the last thing he'd expect from us" Haruna added proudly.

"Oh… so a sneak attack huh?" Nagi cooed. "That's surprisingly cunning coming from you. Maybe you should become a tactician instead"

"Huh?! Oh no! I didn't come up with this plan alone! I had some help from Hasegawa san (Chisame)" the two of them turned to the genius computer student who blushed at the attention being given to her.

"Ahh crap… why did he have to mention my name?" Chisame groaned embarrassingly.

"Ah yes, now I recognize you from the roster Negi showed me last night" while Nagi was looking at her face to face, the others couldn't help but imagine that this was some sort of first round to impress Negi's father. "Negi said many things about you. That you know a lot about computers and stuff and love doing cosplaying too. Thank you for taking care of my son and I hope you become good friends with him"

A/N: Cosplay: meaning a person who impersonates a character from a movie, cartoon or comic book.

"Ah! Y… yeah… sure" was that she said back to him.

"Hoo… it looks like the battle has begun" Ayaka grinned along with rest of the class who eyed Nagi like a piece of steak hanging in a pit full of starving wolves. "Now remember Ayaka… first impression is always important. If you can win Nagi's heart then you're sure to earn victory over Negi!" she brushed through the others and bowed in front of Nagi. "Hello Mr. Springfield, I am Yukihiro Ayaka, the president of class 3-A. It is an honor to meet such a legend such as yourself. I consider myself to be one of the luckiest persons from earth to see you face to face" her face was so cute and her personality had changed into that of a nice-lady that you would see in 1600s England.

"Ah yes, Ayaka dono" the man smiled with his usual expression. "Negi also spoke great things about you too. He says that you're very reliable and trustworthy. It's a pleasure to meet you too" he bowed. "I trust Negi's well being in your hands and I hope you get along with him"

"Oh my… you really are Negi kun's father" Ayaka chuckled in a very ladylike manner, but her mind was thinking of something far off. _"Great work Ayaka! You made one of the best impressions of today! Score one for the high class!"_

Next came Ku Fei. "Hello there Negi's old dad" she spoke in her usual care free happy tone. "I'm Ku Fei, nice to meet you aru! Sorry about that punch yesterday aru"

"Ah yes, it was alright. I wasn't hurt that badly (And I'm not that old)"

Then Kaede came in with her head bowed. "A pleasure to meet you Nagi san. My name is Nagase Kaede. We met on the battlefield yesterday, but I did not properly introduce myself de gozaru"

"Ah yes, the kunoichi that Negi told me. I thank you for cheering my son up when he was down. Please be good friends with him"

"Of course de gozaru"

Next came Kotaro who only smirked at him. "So you're Negi's old man huh? You don't look pretty tough but I guess you can't judge people by their appearance"

"Ahehehe… that sounds pretty wise coming from a little puppy like you (And I'm stop calling me old!)"

"Hey! Who are you calling a puppy!? I'm a lot older than I look and I'm pretty strong myself don't you know!? I knocked out Rakan several times with my special attack!"

Afterwards the rest of the students of class 3-A followed their example, each of them introducing themselves in different and unique ways one after the other in a good line formation. Nagi was of course amazed on how many students Negi had to take care in order to stay at the academy. He noted each and every one of them and was surprised how different they were from one another. He had to admit that he'd go nuts if he had to spend a whole year with them. The Narutaki twins were really adorable to him, then the cheer leader squad (consisting Misa, Madoka and Sakurako) which offered a friendly handshake, then Hatsuki, then Mana and followed by the remaining members of the Ala Rubra (White Wing). He was slightly nerved when Chachamaru came by to offer her greetings. He didn't even know that androids were real in the human world.

But while the others finished their introduction, Nodoka finally came in line. But it seems like she was having a hard time moving up to the Thousand Master. "Hey Nodoka" Yue gave out a nudge. "It's your turn to say hi. Make a good impression and show your cute side to him"

"Ah… wait Yue chan" Bookstore gulped. "I can't do it. What if he hates me?"

"Don't be an idiot! What's there not to like? The others are already making their move so you've got to do it now to earn yourself some points!"

"N… no I'm too scared!"

"Fine, then I have no other choice! Haa!" Yue attempted to ram her best friend towards Nagi, but to her faulty foot works, she missed her by a millimeter and was unable to stop. "Wha? WHA!!!!?" she rammed right towards Nagi and fell on her butt.

"Ahh… you must Ayase Yue san" Nagi offered his hand to help the girl which she accepted reluctantly. "Negi said many things about you too. You lost some part of your memory when you got here in the magic world. I'm sorry you had to experience that. I hope it did not ruin your relation with my son"

"R… r… relation?" Yue tried to fight back the blush creeping on her face but failed miserably. She began to panic when the Thousand Master lowered his head to her. "Ahh! Please don't bow! It was nothing really! It was all just a big misunderstanding and ugh… I uh… I uhh…" she looked around trying to find something else to talk about, but found none until she returned her eyes to Nodoka. "AH!" with a quick work of the hand, she pulled her best friend next to her as morale support. "Umm… this is my best friend Nodoka! She works in the same club as me and stuff! Say something Nodoka" she whispered that last sentence to her friend just to get the road going.

"Umm… hello… Nagi… san" she said slowly like she was both afraid and shy.

"Ahh, you must be Miyazaki Nodoka" Nagi recognized her from Negi's roster. But to his surprise, the girl in front of him looked so much cuter than the one in the picture. He smiled and chuckled. "Hmm… Negi was right. You do look a lot cuter when you don't cover your eyes with your hair" the girl visibly blushed at his words for it almost sounded like something Negi would say. "From the look of your Pactio, you're a mind reader aren't you?"

"Y… yes…" she replied proudly.

"Well that's a pretty rare artifact you got there Miyazaki san. How many times have you used that to peek in your friend's thought?"

"Eh!? No I would never do such a thing!"

"Actually… she does it plenty of times before" Chamo stated with a little sweat drop. "Even though they were not really emergencies"

"Ah! Chamo kun, you're making me look bad!"

"Hehehehe it's alright Miyazaki san" Nagi waved it off. "Being curious of what other people think about is a natural thing for a human (Wha!? No!) You probably couldn't resist the temptation and did it. Heck even Rakan wouldn't hesitate to use that artifact hehehehehehe"

SHOCK!

Nodoka was heartbroken by his words and felt like glass that was broken by a bowling ball. She moved to the corner of the area and sulked while scribbling her will on the muddy ground. "Hooo… I feel terrible"

"Ahh… was it something I said?"

"Father! You made Nodoka cry!" Negi yelled with comical tears falling down his eyes. He and Yue quickly ran over to Bookstore's side to try and comfort her. "Ahh Nodoka san don't cry"

"_That guy's got no sense of a woman's feelings at all!"_ Yue yelled in her head. _"But I guess Negi also has that gift of speaking from the heart"_

"Ouch…" Haruna giggled unsure of how to react. "Well I guess that's a normal reaction after being compared with Rakan san like that"

"Hey!" the swordsman felt insulted. "What's that supposed to mean!?"

But just when Nagi was about to go and apologize, he felt a tug on his cloak making him jerk his head towards Konoka. "Eh?"

"Ah hello there Negi's dad" she greeted politely. "I'm Konoe Konoka, the daughter of Konoe Eishun"

"Ohhhh! Kono chan!?" Nagi recognized her almost instantly. "Little mini Kono chan!? Oh my you sure have grown! How's your father doing? I haven't seen him in ages! The last time we met, you could barely even walk. Oh wait… I think I have a picture that your dad gave to me when you were still a baby (Eh?)" Konoka popped up an imaginary question mark on her head as she looked at the photo. It was indeed her and her father when she was recently born. It showed her sucking on a pacifier and her father giving out a peace sign. "Man… you were cute back then Kono chan. You even gave the maids a hard time when you didn't know how to use the toilet"

"WHA!" Konoka quickly tried to signal the old man to stop before he embarrassed her any further.

"Awww how cute!" Makie squealed. "Konoka looks like a new born princess surrounded by peasants teehee"

"Ahh! Makie chan, don't look!"

"Oh don't worry" Nagi waved it off. "Eishun had an album full of these pictures so he sent me a copy. Look there's even a picture of Konoka when she tore her kimono during the harvest festival"

"WHA!!!! Nagi san!"

Yue and Kaede sweat dropped. "Somehow… he suddenly turned from a mage to a father that likes to embarrass his own kids"

"I agree…"

But just as the kids looked through Konoka's embarrassing photo album (much to her dismay) the young mistress realized that only Setsuna had not given her greetings yet. "Ah yeah, Set chan, why don't you greet Nagi san? You're the only person who hasn't said hi yet"

"Ah… that's alright ojou sama. I already that… ahehehehe" she let out a fake laugh. _"Actually, he already knew me back when we were fighting"_

"Oh… is that so? Oh well" but then she saw the girls showing Negi the photo album. "Ahh! Negi! Don't look! It's embarrassing! (laughing) Ahh! Please don't laugh, it isn't funny! I was only four two when I learned how to use the toilet! I was short back then and so I couldn't reach the handle! (more laughs) Ahh! Come on now you guys, quit it!"

"Hehe…" Setsuna chuckled. "Looks like ojou sama is enjoying herself. I haven't seen her this embarrassed or relaxed in a long time now" but then suddenly, a familiar ominous feeling dread Negi's presence. "Eh? This feeling…………… its…!"

"EVA BUSTER KIIIIICKKKKKK!!!" Evangeline soon appeared out of nowhere and slammed her feet against Negi's face, sending him to the ground on a long dirt nap.

"AHH!" the boy recovered after accidentally eating some of the dirt on the ground. "M… m… master!?" he felt the vampiress's hands grabbing his collar and pulling it closer to her face.

"Hello there boyo… nice to see me again?" she said in her threatening seductive tone. "You dare teach one of my most favorite spells to one of your students without my permission? You certainly got some guts Nagi. I should probably kill you and drain all of your blood right now. That should be sufficient for your punishment"

"AHH! Master! Please forgive me! I didn't know that it was a forbidden technique!" he reasoned pleadingly. "I just thought that it would be good for someone to have the same power as me to protect others you know!"

"That's not a good enough…… REASON!" she slammed him against one of the giant barrels where they the rum for the soldiers. "You should know better than anyone that, that technique isn't meant for ordinary humans. The side effects that comes afterwards will paralyze the user greatly and may even cost that person his life on a battlefield"

"Y… yes… I know that…" Negi quickly regretted getting up as he was kicked again on the stomach, sending him back to the muddy area. "WAhh!"

"So you knew that side effect and still you opted to teach her!" a vein throb appeared on Eva's head telling others that she was pissed off. "I really should just kill you right now!" but before she lounged at him, she turned at the Thousand Master. "And you! (Eh? Me?) Yeah you! Stay right where you are! Once I'm through with your little boy I'm coming for you next! I still have a score to settle with you!"

"Eh… ok…"

"W… wait Eva san!" Setsuna stopped her. "Negi didn't teach me this willingly. I… I uh… I kind of forced him to teach it me"

Eva looked at her with a slight surprised look. To think that Setsuna would quickly rush to the boy's defense like that. But she just waved it off. "Who the hell was asking for your opinion!!" she roared. "Even if you did force him, I gave him specific orders that only he can learn this technique and no one else!"

"B… but…" Setsuna held the blush that was appearing on her face, but Eva's eyes were quick enough to catch a glimpse of it.

"Oh…" she smirked evilly and seductively like a mistress of slaves or something. "I see…… so you actually went that far to get him to teach that technique to you? Hoo hoo (Huh?) My my, I did not that you were that sly… Sakurazaki. To actually go and use your own body to persuade Negi bozu to teach that… hoohoo… then I guess it is understandable for a kid his age…"

"WHAT!" Setsuna barked, her blush became apparent.

"Whoa! Seriously Setsuna nee chan?" Chamo grinned mischievously. "I didn't know you had it in you?"

"Wow… I never knew that Setsuna was like that" Haruna was snickering up a laugh that her nose bled.

"Setsuna chan…" Nodoka also bled from her nose along with Yue and Ayaka.

"Such a despicable woman" the class rep stated frightfully. "To go that length where no woman has gone before"

"WHAT?!" the samurai denied it wholeheartedly. "No NO NO NO!!! YOU MISUNDERSTAND!! I WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING!! Eva! You're manipulating the majority against me!!"

"How else do you think you were able to persuade him!?" she asked. "It was the only thing I could think of! You spoiled body! Stay away from me!"

"You misunderstand! I just asked him and gave him a couple of sandwich from his hometown as payment!!" she explained loudly which made the vampiress pause in shock and question.

"Sandwich?" she turned to Negi with even more rage inside. "You taught her that technique… in exchange for… sandwich!?"

"Ah… I'm really gonna die aren't I…?" Negi tilted his head in defeat and awaited his punishment. But strangely enough… it never came. He looked up and saw Eva hovering above him. "Ah?"

"Come with me boyo" she demanded in a serious tone. "Let's go to my resort"

"Ara… she's angry again" Rakan chuckled. "Sometimes I think that she just hurts the boy because she's worried about him"

"Hehehe… I agree" Takahata laughed. "I guess the saying 'You always hurt the ones you love' proves this situation to be true"

**(Training grounds) (Eva's resort)**

A/N: For those who have not read the manga of Mahou Sensei Negima, I will explain the spell of Eva's resort. When a person enters it, they cannot leave the place until 24 hours have passed. But since it is compressed with magic, only one hour will pass in the mortal world. Negi uses this place often to train himself often along with his students.

When the gang arrived on scene, Eva and Negi stood on opposite sides of the field waiting for their training to commence. How did they know it was training? Well it was simple really. If it was punishment then Negi would've already been barraged by a volley of hammers and nails by now and hung up on the hanger for dry clean.

"Eh! Eva san, wait a minute!" Setsuna called out. "Negi just got out of bed and his injuries haven't really healed yet! He can't go on training like this!"

"Oh shut up" came her annoyed reply. "You're the reason why I have to do this in the first place! (to Negi) Alright boyo, show me that technique you used when you fought your old man back in your village! Make it flashy!"

"She called me old…" Nagi sobbed.

"Eh? Do you mean Magia Erabea master?" the boy looked at her questioningly.

"No shrimp! The other one! The one you kicked their asses with!" she was pointing to Rakan, Takahata and Nagi who was still sobbing. "The one with the blue flame and everything!"

"Blue flame?" he raised a quizzical look.

"_Ahh… it looks like he doesn't remember"_ Eva thought_. "I guess he must've been unconscious when the Darkova took over"_ she paused for a moment and sighed. "Fine then… let's just start by using your dark magic. Don't hold anything back cuz I hell won't be showing you any mercy this time!" the boy nodded and began chanting Magia Erabea by removing the seals. _"Even though I said that, that brat is already way stronger than me even without Magia Erabea. Maybe I said too much?"_

"Deko na verentus. Oel nahafirig. Wavil no flois! (Darkness within. Open the gateway to desire. Awaken the wave!)"

"Here it comes…"

"Ooo… Negi sounds so gallant using his low toned voice" Ayaka giggled happily. "I wonder if he grows old his voice would become like that"

"Don't wish too much class rep" Makie chuckled nervously. "That wouldn't sound like Negi anymore aehehehehe. It would sound a lot more like his old dad"

"Hey! I'm not that old you know!" Nagi groaned. "I'm still in my mid Thirties!"

But just the boy charged up his powers. He felt something strange stirring within his heart. He charged up more and more but then………… nothing happened. The Magia Erabea failed. "Eh? That's odd? Let me try again…" he cast out the same spell again, but still it did not work. He chanted louder and made sure every word was correct. He tried everything from striking a pose and putting the cold face on but still nothing happened. "Eh? That's really strange? Maybe I got the face wrong (WHAM!!) Gaaccck!"

"QUIT SCREWING AROUND!!!!" Eva kicked him out of annoyance. "Stop playing around and start getting serious boyo! If you don't then I really might just kill you without knowing it! Are you trying to piss me off on purpose here!?"

"Ahh… wait Eva san! I really am trying!" the boy begged her to give him another chance. "Please wait" he paused and began chanting the spell again. The power within him flowed, but not the one he was looking for. "Eh?" instead of dark magic, a puff exhausted smoke rose from his body. "That wasn't supposed to happen… uh oh…"

"BOYO!!!!!" another kick was laid on his face, sending him to the ground. "What's the matter with you!?"

"Master! I'm being honest! I don't know what's wrong. I did everything right, but nothing's working!" Negi reasoned, but Eva locked his neck to the ground and say on top of him. "Gulp… Master?"

"Hold still and don't you move a muscle boyo" she ordered seriously. Negi followed it to the letter not daring to move one inch fearing that she might do if he did. But Eva was simply scanning the magical energies flowing on Negi's body. _"What the hell!? If that boy is pulling off some kind of joke then it an't funny"_ Eva groaned in her head. _"The only reason that my dark magic isn't working would probably be because…"_ and when she looked up onto the boy's heart, her eyes widened with dread imprinted on her face. "It's… it's gone" she muttered. "There's nothing… not one bit of hint of darkness at all…"

"Master?"

"That's enough for today boyo" she told him coldly. "Go and rest for today and we'll have a practice tomorrow" everyone was surprised to see Eva act that way. Usually by now she would've given Negi a beating or two, but she just left him… just like that. That was definitely not something she would do.

"Negi sama!" Setsuna rushed to the boy's side to see if he was alright. "Are you alright?"

"Ah… I'm ok Setsuna chan" the boy replied wearily. "Eva seemed to have given me a break today. (sigh) I'm glad… I thought I was going to die for a moment there"

"But that was odd though de gozaru" Kaede placed her hand on her chin in suspicion of Evangeline's actions. "That didn't seem like Eva at all"

"I agree aru" Master Ku nodded. "Giving Negi a break like that isn't something she would do… ever! Aru"

"Something is up… and whatever it is, it has to do with the reason why Negi can't use Magia Erabea… de gozaru…"

"Oi you two" Rakan placed a hand over them like a bunch of kids. "Stop thinking too much or you'll grow wrinkles. This isn't the time to be worrying about troublesome things. Shouldn't we be celebrating about Negi finally finding his dear old dad?"

"Don't call me old! I'm not that old!" Nagi yelled annoyingly.

"That's a great idea Rakan dono!" Haruna totally agreed. "Hey everyone! Who's up for a party to celebrate Negi's old man's return!? (I'm not that old!)"

"Hey that's a great idea Paru!" Ako and the cheer leaders nodded. "We can bring the food from the lower levels! Hey Chachamaru, do you think we can use some of the supplies you have stored in here?"

The android perked up a rare smile. "Why of course" was her answer. "I'm sure we have some food stocks left in the basement level of the resort. I can cook up something for everyone"

"Ah! I'm sorry to trouble you Chachamaru san" Negi apologized modestly.

But the android simply smiled it off. "If it is for Negi sensei and the return of his father then I don't mind. I can simply restock everything tomorrow. Besides, it's been so long since this place had any good atmosphere. I will go and fetch the necessary requested provisions"

"Alright! Then a party it is!" Paru cheered along with the rest of the gang. "Let's give three cheers for Negi! Hip hip!?"

"Hooray!"

"Hip hip!?"

"Hooray!"

"Hip hip!?"

"Hooray!"

"And another three cheers for him finding his old man! Hip hip!"

"STOP CALLING ME OLD!!!!"


	5. The Better Days

**Chapter 5: The Better Days…**

**(Eva's resort) (11:25 PM resort time) (07:50 PM real time)**

It was night time there at the resort of Evangeline A.K. McDowell. The stars that were scattered across the sky were not real, but it was still beautiful for those who looked at it. The party that Haruna ordered up was celebrated well into the night and everyone who participated in it drank their way to their beds. Jack, Takahata, Ricardo, princess Theodora, Albireo Imma heck even Negi's dad came to play. With the eve of battle slowly approaching, it was only natural that the heroes and heroin celebrate with a full stomach and a wet throat.

But once the fireworks ended and the last of the cheers turned to snores, Negi thought that it would be good for the girls to go to their respective rooms and sleep to regain their strength. For tomorrow… only an hour would've passed by and before they would know it, they would be fighting Fate and his grand army of golems for dominance over the world and its people.

**(Negi's room) (3****rd**** floor)**

"Ahh… I need to use the toilet" Negi muttered as he walked out from his super-comfy double deluxe bed which Chachamaru prepared for him personally. She made sure that he got the best treatment, the best view, and of course the best room in the whole resort. She even made sure that there weren't any cameras around (much to Eva's disappointment) to record him sleeping or changing or doing whatever he is doing in his room. Negi was in his PJs at that moment, and after putting on his fluffy rabbit sandals he left.

"Ah… aniki, wait for me!" Chamo, the only one who he shares his room with rode on his shoulder. "Walking out this late at night can be dangerous"

"Ya… kamo…" Negi replied drowsed.

But just as the boy walked out of his room, he crossed through a balcony hallway where Setsuna was coincidentally taking a little midnight stroll to pass the time in. When the boy walked passed, she first thought that it was either Eva or Kotaro since they were the only people with that height of shadow. But when saw him moving drowsily like a drunkard she quickly recognized her teacher's face. "Huh? Negi… sensei?" she muttered out his name.

"Toilet… here toilet…" Negi was calling out to the bathroom like a pet. "Here toiler toilet…" he waved one arm like he was calling his pet dog and the other rubbing his half asleep eyes.

"_He's calling for a toilet?"_ Setsuna let out a sweat drop. "Well I guess he is still ten after all pfftt…" she held up a chuckle in her mouth and resisted the urge to call him cute. But she had to admit that Negi looked really adorable from her point of view. His chibi like face and small slim body made him look like a doll just to be played with. After seeing him looking around the area trying to remember where the bathroom was, she decided to assist the boy. "Ah, Negi sen…" but she stopped mid sentence when she noticed another presence near the balcony area. "Hmm?" it was none other than Nagi his father. His figure and straight wild hair was easy to tell from this distance. "Is that… Nagi?"

The Thousand Master was looking at the stars that night. His eyes fixated on the billions of lights glittering and shining even brighter than before like the heavens were singing. He probably did this constantly when he was away from Negi. Watching each and every one of the stars and wait silently in a corner or a hole, wondering if his son was watching same stars tonight as well. "Haaa…" he let out a sigh. But it quickly ended when he heard footsteps behind him and saw Negi groogily walking and calling out to 'toilet'. "Ah boyo. Where are you going this late at night?"

"Ah… hello there father" Negi replied sleepily in his chibi form which made him look adorably cute. "I was just going to the bathroom. I think I drank too much water from the party. (chuckles) Oh… but what are you doing here father? I thought you already went to sleep with Rakan and Takahata sensei and Al san?"

"Oh… I couldn't sleep. I had something on my mind that I wanted to think about"

**(Ala Rubra's room) (Crimson wing)**

But of course what Nagi just said earlier was a lie. The reason why he really couldn't sleep was because of Jack's unimaginable snoring. His snore was so loud that it makes the noise 4th of July sound like a mouse squeak. Takahata was fine with it since he brought ear plugs for just such an occasion and Albireo was cool since he had magic to block out the sound, but just barely. _"Oh man… Nagi was right… this does feel like the good old days… and the bad nights as well…" _Al thought.

Chachamaru was familiar with Rakan's sleeping habits thanks to Negi and the others telling her first hand and was prepared. With Satome's assistance the android was able to make their room soundproof so no one but the people inside the room may hear Rakan's sleeping beauty snores.

**(Back with the Springfields)**

"Really? What's it about?" Negi asked, joining his father by the rail. "Maybe I can help"

But Nagi simply waved it off. "Ahh no. I already solved it so there's no need to bother with it anymore than necessary ahehehehe" suddenly an idea popped into his head. "Oh yeah… since we're here now, why don't we have a little talk? It's been awhile since we last spoke"

"Actually more that six years to be more précised" Chamo added grinning.

Negi blushed not really knowing what there was to talk about. "Well uh…" he started. "Umm…… I guess well… uh…"

"Come on Negi" Nagi urged him in a friendly manner. "Just say the first thing that comes to your mind"

The boy thought again and looked around the premisis to see if there was anything to talk about. There was the floor, the ceiling, the waterfalls around them, the hallway, the trashcan. He could've said any of those things, but what came next made Nagi face fault. "N… n… nice weather we're having, isn't it? (bonk!)"

Nagi gave out a mother of all sweat drops to that statement. He was expecting a question, a real question that would've put him on the edge, but instead he got the weather. "Oh for Pete sake! Of all things to talk about, did he have to choose the weather!?" he rumbled in his head while messaging his temples. "Y… yeah… it is…" he groaned.

"Even though they were designed by Eva san, they still look beautiful even from here" he starred at the stars, with his eyes glittering along with them. "Haa… I can stare at them all night long if I could, but it's ashame that they only appear during the night (and Mahora is usually full of lights so it's hard to see them)"

"_Heh… he's such a gentleman"_ Nagi thought. _"Speaking that line in such a poetic way would make any girl fall for him. Heck even Theodora might blush right now if she heard that"_ he mentally reminded himself to tease the little princess about him later on for it might look pretty funny. "Anyway Negi, tell me more about your adventures here in the magic world" he questioned his son finally out of impatience.

"Eh? Me?"

"Yeah you!" Nagi humored. "I heard from Rakan and Al that you were all wanted people just like me when you guys first arrived here. So how was it? Did you fight off the bounty hunters? Were there any close calls? Were there any cute girls hunting for your head cuz that would really be a major turn on!"

"I uh…" Negi stuttered. "I well, we uh… we… didn't really um. We did fight some mercenaries, but we just knocked them out. Instead we just hid around by disguising ourselves"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Setsuna let out a chuckle as she listened to their conversation. Though she felt kind of guilty eavesdropping on them like a stalker, she had to know what they were going to talk about. At first she thought that they would discuss something about their lives or the coming battle with Fate, but instead they were talking about the past, which pretty much proved as irrelevant information to her.

"Pfftt… looks like they're having a good time" she giggled. "Well… I guess I shouldn't be hanging around anymore or else they might notice me" but just when she was about to head back to her room, she suddenly saw the hallway occupied with a bunch of her friends with their ears planted near the area. "Arghhhhh!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOING HERE!!?!?!" she screamed softly trying not to alarm Negi and his father. She nearly had a heart attack when she saw her friends like that. She didn't even sense them approaching or coming out of their rooms at all.

Haruna, Nodoka, Yue, Kazumi, Makie, Chachamaru, Konoka, Kaede, Ku Fei and even Sayo was there to witness the scene of father and son.

"Shh…" Paru hushed. "Keep quiet or you'll blow our cover!"

"Paru! What is the meaning of this! Shouldn't you all be in your rooms!?" Setsuna urged them to go back, but even her mistress Konoka seemed to have come out to listen.

"That's easy for you to say!" Makie whispered annoyingly at her. "You were the first to eaves drop at them so don't judge us you hypocrite!"

"Yeah!" Kazumi agreed. "I bet you wanted to listen to them too didn't you Setsuna chan?"

"That's a lie!" Setsuna barked back her voice now barely contained to a whisper. "I would never do such a thing! I was just taking a midnight stroll!"

"Actually… Ku Fei dono and I heard some suspicious footsteps, so we decided to follow de gozaru" Kaede reasoned to which Ku Fei nodded.

"I'm a robotic machine" Chachamaru pointed out. "I do not require sleep so I followed Nodoka san and Yue san"

"I was worried when Set chan left the room" Konoka added. "I thought that you might've been lost so I went out looking for you"

"Ojou sama! That's silly, I would never get lost no matter how big the place is!" again Setsuna had to control her voice just to minimize the hearing distance from her mouth. "Come with me, let's go back to our rooms and not eaves drop on our teacher!"

But her words of warning were ignored almost instantly when the group rushed to the edge of the wall to listen at the two mages as they converse.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Eh? But didn't you enter the tournament with my name on it?" the Thousand Master tilted his head in question. "Didn't anyone recognize you?"

"Ah! Actually during that time, I had to disguise myself using these special age candy" he quickly showed his old man two gumballs which saved his life more times than he could count. "Chamo kun ordered them for me and it helped me get through a lot of troubles and tight spots (although we did get discovered in the end)"

"Oh I heard about these. The Red one makes you looks older while the Blue ones makes you look younger by two or three years, right?"

"You got that right old man" Chamo raised his white paw in delight. "But they were expensive yo! When we gathered everyone together I had to buy a box for each of them just to hide from the guards and media!"

"Yeah!" Negi gladly showed him the box full of the candy which he took out from his cloak. "These pills saved me a lot of times but I really have to pay Chamo kun back as soon as I got the money" but then he realized that his father took the box and began gouging on the pills one by one. "AH! Father wait don't take too many of them or you'll get mixed up with… (poof)" it was too late for his dad already took them into his mouth. Immediately after the puff of smoke, a twenty year old Nagi appeared before him. "A…a…re?"

"Whoa! This is awesome" the Thousand Master squealed in joy. "I can't believe it! I really took like my old self when I became the hero of the magic world! My wrinkles are gone, my muscles don't look like inflated chunks of balloons and I even have my abs doubled! Woohoo! This magic rocks! I wonder if I can return to my childhood days with this"

"Ah! Wait father don't take too many of them or you'll… (poof)" again Nagi ignored the boy's warning and ate many of the blue candies. "AHH!" after the smoke vanished, a ten year old Nagi appeared, smiling like a goofball.

"Whoa……" the man looked at himself on the nearby mirror just to get a good look of himself. "Wow! This is it! This is exactly how I look like when I was ten! Wee!" he began running around the hallway like there was no one to stop him in the world. "Hey Negi, why don't we play tag for the night!?"

"What!? Father NO! It's way past bed time! We should be sleeping! (And I still need to go to the bathroom!)" Negi reasoned.

"Oh come on! Just for a few minutes! It'll be fun! Tag you're it!" Nagi tricked his own son by pinching his cheek. "Mwahahahaah! Come on Negi, you're so slow! You'll never catch me with that kind of speed!"

"Hey that was sneaky father! Come back here! Father! (Weeeee! I'm young again!) Father! Please! You'll wake everyone up! It's way past bed time!"

"Blehhh!" Nagi stuck out his tongue taunting his son. "You're gonna have to catch me first boyo! Mwahahahaha! This is so much fun! I should buy more of this when we get home hahahahaha! Come on Negi you're so slow!"

Fearing that the ruckus the Thousand master was causing would disturb Evangeline, Negi quickly followed him using a speed increase magic and lounge his body to stop his father from causing anymore noise. "Gotcha!"

"Hey that was cheating!" Nagi whined just like a ten year old kid trying to pry himself from his parent's arms. "No fair! No magic allowed during a game of tag!"

"I'm not playing father! And stop acting like you're ten! Act your age!" he bonked his father on the head.

"Look who's talking!" Nagi countered with a return bonk on the boy. "You're ten and you're not even acting your age! A kid like you should be acting like me!"

"Oi… it's a good thing we're not in public" Chamo sighed. "… or this scene would be pretty embarrassing"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ara…" Kaede chuckled. "I feel like their roles have been switched"

"Yeah" Paru nodded. "It feels like Negi's the adult and Nagi's the kid who just wants to do nothing but play around. (giggle) I was hoping for a father to son scene, but this isn't exactly what I had in mind"

"But they do look pretty identical" Yue mentioned their appearance. "If you put them with the same clothes and clean that guy up a bit… and with a little shave, you wouldn't be able to tell them apart" the others quickly tried to imagine Nagi cleaned up for a moment and quickly realized that both he and Negi were not really that far apart except for age. If they put some oval glasses around the old man's face, he would totally be the doppelganger for the boy. The only thing different about them now was their personality.

"Hehehehe… I guess they really are father and son after all" Kazumi snickered.

But just as the girls were giggling at them, Negi finally popped in a real question to move the time along. "Hey father"

"Yeah?" Nagi looked at him still in his ten year old form.

"C…… c… can you tell me… something…… about…… mother?" the question hit Nagi like a sack of cement slamming right at his face going at about 150 mph. He was prepared for it, but he couldn't tell when and where Negi would ask.

"Wha!?" even the girls of class 3-A that were present at the moment perked in interest about this topic. To think that they would get a first hand scoop of Negi's mother was totally unpredictable and unprecedented.

"Hey! You guys!" Setsuna urged them to go back but they simply ignored her. "This is a private conversation, not a celebrity talk show!"

"Oh but Set-chan it sounds so interesting" Konoka smiled playfully.

"Ojou sama!"

"SHH!" Paru hushed. "Quiet, I think Nagi's about to say something"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ahh… your mom?" Nagi spoke up returning to a more passionate tone. "That's a tough one" he mused as he turned to the stars as if trying to find some sort of answer from them. "Man… where should I start? Hehehe. Your mother…… she was…… well… I guess you could say… that she was an amazing person… one of a kind if I may add. She was…… beautiful"

"How did you two meet?" Negi perked questioningly.

"Oh we met a couple of times during the war" his father answered in his childhood form. "I guess you could say that… she was kind of a… one time woman. She was a bit younger than me… probably about four or five years (Girls: Ohhhh!) She had a cute personality too and not to mention that she was talented in a lot of ways too. But of course that wasn't what attracted me to her. It wasn't status or material wealth or her body or her face… but her strength…"

"Her strength?"

"Yeah… she had this aura around her saying 'I can do anything' and never gave up no matter how bad the odds were against her. Because of that…… she always lost to me during bets on races and card games ahehehehe" Nagi laughed at that last part which made Negi face fault.

"Father, try to be a little more serious here!"

"I am serious" he replied waving his finger around. "But I won't lie to you about this though. She was indeed someone… I really cared about, probably the most important person to me during the war. (sniffle) If it wasn't for her… I don't think that I would be the person I am today"

Negi saw the emotion his father showed out and saw a bit of himself in that picture. He remembered how it was like to love someone. He remembered the joys, the pains, the laughter, the cries, the happy and embarrassing times that he experienced. It was probably an experience so great that it would make any person grow in a personal way.

"Anyway!" Nagi brought himself out of that sappy moment and turned his attention back to his son with his same goofy look that he had with him. "What about you boyo? Since you've been in an all girl school I bet you must've had plenty of choices to pick, right? (Eh?) Oh yeah, you made a contract with everyone in your class. So tell me, which one of them do you have the hots with? Which of them had the best kiss? Are you interested in any of them?"

"Wah!? Of course not!" Negi replied embarrassed. "That would be inapproapraite for a teacher to have a relationship with a student!"

"Oh come on now. You can't hide something like that from your pops" Nagi chuckled. "Come on, show me the roster again. I'll just have to pick one for you"

"FATHER!!"

"Ahh… youth" Chamo watched them from the wall. "It must be nice being young and innocent like aniki"

"Hey, just kidding just kidding" the red head wizard waved his hand in defense. "But if you really want my opinion, my first choice would definitely be Sakurazaki or as you call her Setsuna"

The girls at the back were quick to turn at the young samurai who only stood still blushing at Nagi's comment. "What? You mean… Setsuna san?" Negi questioned.

"Yup that girl you taught how to use dark magic" the man clarified. "I was really moved by her skill when we fought yesterday. She really showed talent of being a swordsman and I think she has a gift of using magic too. She was able to cast Magia Erabea even after taking a beating"

"Ahh… sorry about that father" Negi sulked. "It's because I taught her that technique that she got hurt. (I told her not to use it unless it was an emergency)"

"Ahh no sweat boyo! But of all the girls, she would probably be my first choice if I was studying there" Nagi let out a laugh. "She has that passion in her eyes and not to mention she's kind of pretty, don't you agree boyo?"

"I'm not answering that question!!" Negi shouted loudly in a comical way. "Don't consult with yourself like that! You don't even know them!"

But Nagi ignored his rambling and continued. "Well… my second choice would probably be that ninja girl Kaede" the kunoichi at the back perked slightly at her name being called. "She has a mother's aura around her which makes me think that she'll make a good wife one of these days. And her blank facial expression makes it almost impossible to read what she will do next. You can't hide a secret from her and I bet your children will be one heck of a fighter"

"EH?!?" Negi yelled. "Father! Please, even with no one's here it's still embarrassing! And what's this about me having children at this age!? (Think about what you're saying before you say it!)"

"Hahaha! Don't be shy kiddo, you're gonna have to do it one of these days" Nagi muffled his laughter to hide his humorous tone. He never knew that teasing his own son could actually be this fun and cute. But Negi simply denied all accusations and choices that his father gave out. He had no heart for one woman but rather a soul for each and every one of them. "But my third choice would probably be that ten po master of yours"

"Ah? You mean master Ku?"

"Yeah that girl that Jack… umm… used as an assistant" Nagi silenced himself from saying anymore as he know that it would be an embarrassing thing to say. When Rakan used her giant bust to bring Negi out of his state of Darkness, he couldn't forget than scene even if he tried using a memory erase spell. "She has a nice body and I'm sure she can be good at anything if she puts her mind to it. Not to mention that she's also your master. That means you two have a good relation already"

"Father! Enough!"

"Oh come on boyo, where's your sense of taste? These girls are good! They'd make perfect partners for you!"

"You're just picking them out of the blues!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

But along the back, Haruna and the others couldn't help but turn their attention to the three girls whose names were mentioned by Nagi. Setsuna, Kaede and Ku Fei stood in line as they were to be interrogated by the Mahora love investigation team. It was a good thing that Ayaka wasn't with them or they'd never hear the end of it from the class rep.

"Hoo hooo hoo…" Paru grinned evilly like she always does before interrogating her classmates. The three warriors had come across many monsters before in their time here in the magic world. From high level demons to dragons of godlike power… but all of them paled in comparison to the malicious grin of the great Paru sama who everyone of class 3-A recognized and had come to fear. "Well well well… it looks like we have ourselves some new adversaries for the crusade for the Holy Grail" she snickered. Setsuna was the only one who tensed up while Kaede and Ku Fei sat there with blank expressions showing on their faces. Kaede was obvious since she was an expert of stealth and discretion and Ku Fei was too idiotic to understand what kind of face she was supposed to be doing right now.

"Ahehehe" the ninja chuckled. "Looks like we on the hit list"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Father! Please, I'm not that kind of person!"

"Oh?" a wide ear to ear grin appeared on the magister's face. "Oh I see… you're a harem type. I get it you're not a man who's satisfied with one woman but rather a bunch of them. Well I guess that can also be understandable seeing that you kissed almost everyone in your classroom"

"NOOO!! That's not what I meant! Father!"

Chamo could only sit at the side as Nagi continued to embarrass his son even when no one was looking. Seeing that this was going to take a little while he took out a cigar from out of nowhere and puff a few smoke to pass the time. "Man… for a dad… he does know how to make his kid scream" he commented.

"OI YOU BRATS!!!!!" came a yell from Eva's room on the top level of the resort. "Some of us here are trying to sleep so quit your whining and go to your room!"

"Ahh, sorry about that Eva chan" Nagi replied from the balcony area. "I'm just having a little heart to heart talk with my son right now"

"Well find another time! This is nap time! Even vampires need their beauty sleep you know!" she slammed her window so loud that it echoed around the resort.

"Ahh… I got master angry again" Negi stated dejected of what he will be experiencing tomorrow. "She's gonna bully me again tomorrow morning. That much I'm sure"

"Hey don't worry about her" Nagi comforted him. "She's always cranky even when I first met her fifteen years ago. I think she's just like that because she can't suck out people's blood for fun. And here's a secret… she's actually ticklish (really?) Yeah! Especially on her neck. She goes laughing like crazy if you touch it with a finger. Why else do you think she wears that big cape around her neck?"

"I see…" Negi placed his hand on his chin in interest. "That would explain a lot"

"Oi aniki, you actually believe him?" Chamo groaned puffing another smoke off his cigar.

Their conversation however was interrupted when a groaning sound emanated from the hallway. "Emmm… where's the bathroom" Kotaro, the half breed wolf emerged looking like he just woke up. "Eh? Negi?"

"Ah, Kotaro kun?" Negi turned to the wolf boy. "Sorry… did I wake you up?"

"No, I was actually looking for the bathroom when I saw you guys" he answered. "Is something wrong?"

But the quick mention of the comfort room quickly reminded Negi that he too was still feeling that overflowing bottom. "Ahh! That reminds me! I haven't gone to the bathroom yet either! Ahh! Which way which way!?"

"Ehehehehe… the bathroom is at the end of that hall" Nagi pointed out humorously. Immediately the two kids said their farewells and departed to the comfort room with a quick dash. Chamo followed suit riding onto Negi's shoulder. "Heh… who woulda thought that greatest hero in the magic world would actually be a kid? I guess heroes comes in all shapes and sizes hehehehehe" but when Negi was finally out of sight and hearing distance, the Thousand Master quickly returned to his original form and smiled. "Heh… you really make me proud boyo" he then turned to the side where the girls were eaves dropping. "Are you going to come out now girls?"

"AHH!" the girls fell to the ground all in rhythm of the beat. "Ahehehe… it looks like we're busted" Paru sighed.

"Ahh! Nagi san!" Nodoka and Yue bowed trying to hide their shame. "We're so sorry! We didn't mean to eaves drop on you!"

"Oh that's ok. I already knew you were there (It was kind of hard not to know)" Nagi waved it off easing the girls of their tension. "You girls must really be close to Negi to eaves drop on him like this. He must be really special to you"

"Ahh… well…" Nodoka's face flushed. "He's…… a very good umm…"

"I see…" Nagi looked at them content and satisfied with the answers he received. Although they weren't exactly clear, he could still understand them. "I'm glad… that Negi was able to meet all of you. I hope that you continue to look after him like you always have"

"Hey don't worry old man" Paru smirked. "We're his guardian angels after all! We'll make sure nothing touches him (But in truth it's actually him who's protecting us!)"

"Very well then" Nagi replied. "I entrust his well being into your hands and may you all be friends with him for all time"

"Ahh now I'm embarrassed" Paru chuckled loudly before turning to his comrades in crime. "Ok everyone, let's go back. There's nothing left to see here. We've got a big night tomorrow" the others agreed to her declaration and decided to head back to their rooms to get some well needed rest, but not before bowing to Nagi as an apology of their eaves dropping. Setsuna was the last person to go but not when she saw Nagi giving her a happy-favored smile which made her blush thinking that she was the first person he suggested to wed his son.

**(Eva's room)**

Eva was in her room that late night unable to sleep a wink after she spared with Negi that afternoon. After she discovered that there was no darkness within Negi's body, she became slightly worried that he would not be able to use dark magic to fight against his enemies. So far, dark magic has been one of his most powerful weapons in his arsenal and he used it during most of his battles to turn the tide to his favor. If he cannot use it anymore then his strength and fighting capabilities will drop severely by forty percent as most of his lightning techniques rely on Magia Erabea to power him up.

She had first hoped that Negi was too tired to cast out the spell or he simply ran out of strength to supplement his powers. But then her fears came to surface when she spotted no hint of dark energy flowing into him. To find a solution to this problem, she decided to recap on the videos that she recorded when Negi fought against his father back at his old hometown. But so far no answer has appeared yet.

"Play…" she ordered Chachazero to push the buttons on the remote control while she analyzed the battle closely. "Stop and rewind at 0.43 (click) Hold… (click) now forward it to 10.15. (click) Hold and rewind by 2 minutes (click click) Play… (click)" she watched the films go over and over again and no matter how many times she watched it, she couldn't get the point what went wrong. "Hmm…"

"Is something the matter master?" Chachazero tilted her doll like head to the sides. "As much as I like to see them tearing each other apart, watching the same scenes over and over again gets kinda boring. I need new blood to satisfy my taste"

"Hmm… still nothing" Eva ignored her bodyguard and went back to her seat. _"Maybe the technique Nagi used on him drained all of his dark energy? No… he destroyed those pillars before that happened. Could he have used it all? No that's impossible. Darkness can't be destroyed. It's a necessity of all life. Hmmm"_ she went into the thinkers pose and began brain storming while watching the battle ensued on her video screen. _"This is too troublesome. If boyo really has lost his dark side then he won't be able to use dark magic to fight against Fate. But even so…… I think he's strong enough to take him out even without dark magic"._

"Weee!" seeing that Eva was not interested in the movie and moved on to her thinking, Chachazero decided to skip the sappy scene and moved to the time when Negi became a Darkova, a being of absolute darkness. "This is my favorite part of the movie heheheheheheheheheee"

"Perhaps it has something to do with his mood? Ahh! Who knows? It's not like I've even been to his mind before" the vampress growled. "If there was only a way to find out… something to bring him out of his… true… self"

Chachazero then slowly turned to her mistress as an evil giggle echoed from her mouth. It was a giggle that she had not heard for a long time. It was a giggle before the woman would do something drastic. "Oooo… master sounds evil tonight. Maybe someone might die tomorrow. How lucky of me"

**(Coalition force main camp) (The next day) (Two days and six hours until invasion of Asgard) (Morning)**

After their little day off at Eva's resort, Negi and his group returned to the real world to spend their last days efficiently. But instead of hanging around the camp, the students usually just hang around Paru's ship since it was probably the only place where they felt the most comfortable. During their earlier days here in the magic world, they had to spend countless nights onboard the 'Great Paru Sama' (Haruna's ship name) to hide from the bounty hunters and law enforcers that constantly threatened their lives. It didn't have enough beds to accommodate everyone, but since the gang had gotten used to its creaky hulls and constant running engine, they began to call it a home away from home.

They never felt more comfortable or any safer place other than the hull of that goldfish that protected them for the past two months. If you asked any of the girls if they would rather sleep in a 10 star hotel for free or that old rust bucket, they'd pick the rust bucket. But that wasn't the only reason why they liked the place so much. Also due to their fame being widespread by Negi's incredible feats, wherever the girls went they always seem to attract a lot of attention to themselves. When they past by the soldiers tents, they would receive slight bows and nods from the guards posted there. When they past by the storage areas they would receive gifts and trinkets from the quartermaster in charge. It made them feel… slightly awkward if you could put it that way.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Haaaa…" Setsuna let out a sigh as she walked down the dirt path along with Kaede that morning all tired and grumpy. She let out a yawn afterwards leaving a hint of tears coming on her eyes. "In the end we couldn't get any decent sleep at all last night in the resort" she stated exhaustingly while she cranked up her arms. "Haruna san interrogated us until the sun came up. I can barely walk straight"

"Yeah…" Kaede smiled weakly. "She kind of reminds me of a detective movie I watched on TV a few weeks ago before we came to the magic world. Anyway, we should probably get some breakfast before we head back to the ship. Oh?" she stopped mid sentence when she noticed a familiar group of adventures sitting on a table with Nodoka and Konoka. "Ah hey, isn't that Nodoka?" from the look on her side, it appeared that Konoka was doing some sort of fortune telling ritual and Nodoka was assisting her using her mind reading abilities to see if it was true or not.

Craig Caldwell- The leader of the treasure hunters (Swordsman)

Aisha Coryell- Magician of the group (Long range supporter)

Christian Dan Checkers- Dual sword fighter (Quick striker)

Lynn Garland- Demon archer, magician and fist fighter of the group (Multi supporter)

A/N: To find out more about these characters, please read Mahou Sensei Negima Chapter 210: Everybody's Ok Daily Progress Journal! (AND) Chapter 218: Boobies on the Line

"Oh my… it seems like you have very little luck in money Dan san" Konoka said cheerily to her customer who was apparently Christian Danchecker, one of Nodoka's adventurous friends who saved her during the time when she was separated from the White Wings. "And your love isn't progressing either"

"Ah! That's cruel even for you to say Konoka chan!" Christian whined knowing well that it was true. He recently lost all his money during a bet he made with Craig and his love for Aisha still remains unnoticed even till now.

"Sorry Dan san, but I only tell the truth, not false hopes" the young mistress smiled as cheerful as ever. "That wouldn't be fortune telling if you only tell good things and things you want to hear"

"But still that's cruel! Wahh!"

"Oh don't get sappy about it" Craig patted his back with a smirk up his lips. "You asked the questions and she's just telling it how it is hehehehehe. Oh? Ahh… well if isn't the ninja girl and the swords lady from Negi's group. How ya two doing?"

"We're doing well" Kaede greeted back. "We were just out to get some breakfast until we saw you de gozaru"

"Ojou sama?" Setsuna questioned. "What are you doing so early in the morning?"

"Oh hey there Set chan. I was bored staying all day at the ship so I decided to pay a little visit down here. Look I'm even doing fortune telling to the merchants that pass by" she gestured to the group of traders that were busily moving their goods and supplies around the camp. Since the forces that had gathered at the ruined city became so massive, the soldiers had to rely on passing merchant ships for supplies rather than their own supply routes from their home bases and cities.

"We were just about to have breakfast ourselves. Wanna join us?" Aisha offered to which the two teens gladly accept.

The small group sat together in harmony as food arrived from one of the tents that were provided with chefs. "Better eat up" Christian urged them. "Food like this don't come by often in this camp. With the supplies running low and all"

"Oh?" Nodoka sounded surprised. "Why is that?"

"Well, ever since General Ricardo announced that we are going to attack soon, the merchants have been packing up and moving out, leaving very little behind" he explained. "The only supplies coming through now are the few brave souls that are willing to venture through this area just to earn themselves a quick penny"

"And now the only things we can get to eat are rations and canned food" Lynn added. "Who knows… this might even be our last real meal we're ever gonna eat in the next two days"

"That's horrible" Konoka shuddered. "To think that we won't be eating chicken curry and pork chops for the next two days is just… is just… too cruel. It makes me feel gloomy" two imaginary ghost like flames appeared on her side making her look like a spirit of the old Japanese classical arts.

"Hehehe… yeah, I guess we'll just have to live with it" Craig reasoned. "By the way miss Konoe, your fortune telling abilities are amazing. How do you do it?"

"Ah ahh ahhh" she waved her pinky around. "A magician never reveals her secrets or else they might lose their powers. But honestly, I just did it for fun back when I was a kid. I practiced for so long that I became proficient in it. (ping) Oh that's right. Set chan, I haven't read your fortunes for a long time now!"

"Ah that's ok ojou sama" the swordsman rejected politely. "I don't want my future to be spoiled"

"Oh come on. It won't hurt! Please, Set chan?" the young mistress knew that Setsuna would be unable to resist her sparkly eyes that she used as a persuader against her indomitable will. "Pretty please with cherry on top, with chocolate coatings and extra sugar, and a slice of lemon as a finale?"

"Ok! Fine, but please try not to make it too obvious for me to guess"

"Yay!" the fortune teller quickly scattered a number of cards on the table to begin the ritual. "Ok Set chan. Ask three question (Eh?) You have to ask a question on which part of your fortune you wish to know"

"I asked about money, love life and my career" Christian gave out a peace sign. "The only good fortune that I have is on my job as a fortune seeker hehehehe"

"But your love life and money making fortune all turned out bad" Craig chuckled which made his companion depress.

"Oh… yeah… I didn't want to remember that" he sobbed.

"Oh… well… I guess…" she stop to think for a moment before asking, "I would like to know about my future as a swordsman and as a person"

"And what's your third question?" Konoka smiled.

"Umm… well I guess I don't really know. Why don't you pick it out for me ojou sama?"

"Ok then. Here we go" with a flip of her hands, Konoka began shuffling the deck of cards at the table and placed three of them in front of Setsuna. "You asked for your career and your future self. Now let's see… ommmm" she did that cheesy fortune teller sound like she was going to cast a spell on a crystal ball. "Let us see the choice of your career" she shuffled the deck a few times and then placed one card over the other. "Ohhh… The Master card. This means that you will become a master on your job. Congrats Set chan!"

"Wha?" Christian raised a quizzled look. "What about me? I only became a tutor in job!"

"Hmm… it is an imaginable theory for you Chris" Lynn chuckled. "I can already imagine you teaching other people onto becoming treasure seekers like yourself"

"Yeah… it's so true that it sounds real" Aisha nodded in agreement.

Setsuna looked somewhat proud at the result of her future and smiled. Seeing that she might just succeed in the art of swordsmanship made her happy.

"Now let's see your future as a person" Konoka continued with another shuffle of the card. She then placed it on top of the other and smiled. "Oh my, The Content. I haven't seen this one in a long while. It means that you will be satisfied in your future as a person Set chan. You will have everything you need and will desire nothing. I'm so jealous that you would have such a happy life"

"Ahh ojou sama" the samurai girl rubbed the back of her head blushing. "I haven't even done anything. You're the one who's telling me about my future"

"Well, since you have such a nice future, I guess I'll have to pick the third question myself" Konoka thought for a moment and quickly had an idea. "Ah! I know! Let's see your love life! (Oooo) That will be something worth looking at"

"AHH! Ojou sama! That's not something you should look into without asking!"

"Too late. You said I can make up the third question and this is what I choose" Konoka playfully winked at her bodyguard. "Now dear cards. Please tell me about Set chan's love life of the future! Cards! Don't fail me now! OMMMMM"

"She's really getting into it" Craig noted the semi-seriousness of the girl. "Is her fortune telling powers really true?"

"I… I'm not sure myself Craig san" Nodoka answered. "But most of the times, her fortune comes true. I haven't done it much so I don't really know if it is real or not. But it's nice to know that something good might happen"

"Alright! Let's see!" Konoka shouted in a determined voice. "Set chan's future love is………… eh?......... The Teacher?" a really long and awkward pause seemed to have loomed over the entire table making the atmosphere a bit. Some could even hear a cricket whistling in the nearby bushes and a dust ball rolled by like it had not a care in the world.

The moment that card came out, Negi's face was the first thing to appear in Setsuna's head. His smily face, his wide round determined eyes, his rubbery cheeks that just makes you want to pinch them.

After a long and serious moment of silence, Christian grabbed the card and looked at it with a slight smirk on his face. "Hey, isn't this a bit obvious on what its talking about? I mean… even a kid could tell who this person is"

"Very true" Craig snuffled up a laugh. "It's like the cards are screaming the answer right out of her face"

"Hey, I didn't know you had the hots for your teacher Setsuna" Aisha teased to which the samurai girl visibly and madly blush. Nodoka on the other hand could sit and watch as the theories and judgments pass left and right like a game of ping pong.

"Wow… is this true Set chan?" Konoka tilted her head questioningly.

"WHA!? No no no! Of course not! He's just a good friend that's all!" she blatted out completely flustered. "We're just partners, nothing more! I swear ojou sama~!" they all laughed at her embarrassed face. "Kaede, please help me!"

"Oh sorry, but I'm not an expert in fortune telling or love life either de gozaru" was her childish reply.

However… their wile story board was coincidentally interrupted when the boy in question himself appeared along the side with his semi-K 9 friend. "Good morning everyone" he greeted politely. "What are you all doing?"

"NOT NOW!!!?!!" Setsuna yelled in panic. In a desperate attempt to change the situation, she grabbed the bench where she shared with Aisha and Craig and whacked it onto Negi's face, sending him down to the earth. "I'm sorry Negi sensei!"

Whack!

"Oooohh… my head…" the boy groaned.

Kotaro sighed at this sight. "Oh boy… what did he do this time? (Just when all his wounds were healed already)"

"What was that for Setsuna san!?" Negi yelled out holding a bump on his head. "I was just saying hi!" but to his surprise, the girl stood there, frozen and in shock of what she just did out of desperation.

"Ah… ahh… ahh… AHHH! Forgive me!! I don't know what I'm doing anymore!!!" she threw the bench away and with the use of 'instant movement' she made a dash for it to another part of the camp hoping to get away from her friends just for a few minutes.

"Ah! Setsuna san!" Negi cried out. "Wait!" but she was already long gone before he could even call out her name again. "What's wrong with her? All I did was say hi" but then his eyes fell upon the girl's sword which was left standing on the side. "Ah! She left her sword behind! Setsuna san! Please wait, you forgot your sword!" he decided to give chase to the girl that just ran off, leaving behind a group of adventurers left chuckling.

"Hey… don't you think we should stop him?" Aisha questioned but Christ only shrugged in response.

"Ahh I wouldn't worry about it. Besides, this might be some good experience for both of them"

"Man… women are so hard to understand" Kotaro sighed.

**(The Great Paru Sama) (Meeting room) (Negi romance club emergency meeting)**

"Man… this so blows…" Haruna groaned as she strolled back and forth at the meeting room with Chamo as he laid back and looked at her with a humorous face. "To think that we didn't have enough rivals for Nodoka and Yue, those three have to board the cruise liner to Negi Paradise!"

"Oh don't worry too much about it Paru nee san" the ermine waved out to her to relieve the girl of some stress. "With aniki around, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole school fell in love with him" he lit up a cigarette stick and puffed a few smoke out in the shape of a circle. But of course that stick was quickly confiscated by Haruna as she did not allow smoking inside her ship.

"No smoking allowed" she warned him comically.

Chamo groaned silently but continued. "Besides, it's not like it's the end of the world. Aniki is still just a kid so it's impossible for him to understand about love completely. Not to mention that he also just found his father. Let's give the boy a break and enjoy the scene while it lasts"

Paru took the ermine's words correctly and analyzed it. It was true, Negi was still a little ten year old boy so it was probably impossible for him to understand the concept… or at least the basic principles of love. And also his dad… made her wonder about something.

"Ah… hey Chamo kun (Hmm?), I've been worrying about something" she said in a very serious tone which Chamo rarely hears coming from her.

"Oh what is it?"

Haruna hesitated to speak her mind as she thought it might've just been some foul play working in her head, but she decided to say it anyway. "Well… since Negi finally found his dad, do you think he'll remain in Mahora for the next school year? (Huh?) I mean think about. His entire purpose of becoming a mage in the first place was to find his old man. Now that he found him, he no longer has a reason to stay"

"Oh… now that you think about… you're right" Chamo awoke at the new subject opened to him. "He worked long and hard back at the mage academy also to find his pops"

"And from what I heard from Rakan and Takahata sensei, Nagi san seems to have a large investment of cash here in the magic world, which makes him rich. Maybe Negi might decide to quit school and stay with his pops (They can live a life of luxury till the end of time itself!)"

"Ohh… that is a possibility" Chamo thought nervously. "Not to mention that most of Nagi's friends are also living here. When everything's over he'll probably have to make a choice between his family or his students and since he's a chivalrous boy, he'll definitely put his family first… which means…"

"_He'll probably stay with his pops in the magic world forever!"_ they thought together imagining Negi and his father walking away from their classmates. _"And we'll never see him again till the rest of our days!"_ they stood there in silent shock of that thought. If it was true then this will probably be the last time they'll probably see Negi ever again.

"This is bad Chamo kun!!" Haruna yelled in panic mode. She had comical tears pouring down her eyes thinking what will happen to Yue and Nodoka who had already given their hearts to the boy. "If Negi leaves then all our effort will be in vein!"

"Hey hey, don't shout! I understand how you feel nee san, but you've got to understand Negi's feelings as well! I mean he's been looking for the guy for six years now, cut him some slack will ya?"

"But still! This is too sudden!! If he leaves where would we be!? Back in the same old boring school living the same old boring lives like regular same old boring students!? NOOOOO!!! I don't wanna! I want to live in this place forever!!! Please don't take me away from this place! I've been a good girl all my life aru!!" she hugged and locked her body onto one of the ship's pipe and cried.

"Hey Paru san, please stay calm (You're not five you know)" Chamo sweat dropped.

"Oi stupids" another voice intervened their conversation. Surprisingly for Chamo, it was none other than Evangeline accompanied by Chachazero. "What the heck are you crying about? Did you finally realize that you're a half pint idiot that can't fly?"

"Oh? Eva chan? This is a surprise" Harula looked at her slightly surprised.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING EVA CHAN!?!!?" the vampress image-ly whacked the girl on the head with her war fan embarrassed by her suffix.

"Ahh sorry. It's just that we never really talked together like this before so it caught me a bit off guard" Haruna let out a soft laugh, but it came to a quick end when she noted that Eva seemed to be eyeing the room looking for someone or something. "Are you looking for something?"

She huffed. "Have you seen boya? I thought that he might be on this ship"

"Oh you mean Negi sensei? I think he went out earlier with Kotaro for some breakfast"

"And what about his old man?"

"You mean Nagi san? (nod) I think he went with Takahata sensei to the hot springs to do some catching up with his old comrades. (They really do act like old men)"

"Tch… typical" Eva sighed knowing that those guys were pretty much useless for information at this point. She just wanted Negi to do some extra exercise just to make sure that her hypothesis on his dark energy were true or not. But just when she was about to leave and collect the boy for her rigged training, a thought suddenly crept onto her head. "Hmm…" she turned around and faced Haruna who was still giving her that same quizzical look. "Hey… you (Hmm?) You two seem to know a lot about boyo, right?"

"What? Negi sensei/Aniki?" Haruna and Chamo said asked in unison.

"Yeah. You two seem to know his feelings well"

"Well… I don't mean to brag, but yeah!" Paru gladly accepted the claims.

"Then can I ask which of the girls do you think he likes right now?"

"Huh?"

"What's this?" Chamo snickered. "Has Eva san finally found her feelings for aniki and wants to see the odds against her?" his soul nearly left his body when Eva suddenly lounge at him with her claws sticking just inches away from his body. "EEEEEKKK!!"

"Careful what you say… vermin. Your next words might just be your last"

"Ahh… Chamo san's gonna bleed to death" Chachazero cooed happily. "I wonder how he would taste like"

"Now tell me who" the vampress demanded.

"S… scary… I think I just wet myself!" Chamo gulped.

"Ahh don't exaggerate Eva san" Paru waved her off trying not to get the old vampire to pin her down and kill her in a blink of an eye. "We have a list of people who might be attracted to Negi, but he doesn't have feelings for anyone right now. (Even though we tried to get him with Nodoka many times already) Like Chamo said, he's still just ten years old"

"Oh… is that so?" Eva raised a brow in question as she retracted her claws. "So Negi doesn't hold any deep feelings for anyone? Not even that Bookstore?"

"Nope… apparently not" the manga artist replied satisfied. "He just likes the students, that's all"

"I see……" Eva paused and looked at the ceiling lights as if she was in deep thought. "Then let me ask another question. If one of his students was on the brink of death… what do you think he would do?" Haruna didn't seem to understand the question so she clarified. "If… let's say that one of you was about to be killed in the next second… what do you think he would do?"

"W… w… w… what kind of a question is that Eva san?" Paru's eyes looked slightly frightened by the vampire's words and became aware of her presence.

"I'm just asking a question" she grinned evilly. "Do you think that boyo would just sit by while one of his students die right in front of his eyes?"

"Of course not!" Haruna replied almost instantly, cutting the woman off. "He'd probably sacrifice himself first and unleash hell before he'd let that happen. That much you don't even need to be a genius to tell"

"Oh… that's nice to hear" Eva licked her lips and showed her fang, making every possible sign that she was going to attack. "Then… I guess you… will do…"

"Huh?" when Eva lounged at her, Paru took out her pactio card. "Adeat!" she quickly drew one of her famed sketches. "Take this! My Haruknights!" two paladins in shining armor carrying broadswords appeared from her sketchbook and shielded the sketcher from the blow which surprised Evangeline.

"Oh… I'm surprised, idiot number 3. You seem to be a lot stronger than you were. I guess time in the magic world made you stronger"

"Oi oi oi!" Chamo was unable to conjure an idea on what was happening right then but it didn't seem right to him that much he could tell. "What the hell are you doing Eva!? Is this some kind of sick joke!?"

"Oh shut up vermin" the ermine was thrown from the table with a simple flick of her finger. "I'm doing this for boyo's sake"

"W… what do you mean for Negi's sake?" Haruna raised a brow questioningly not once lowering her guard. "Is this some kind of test like Nagi gave out!?"

"Well… similar to it I guess" the vampress admitted shrugging her shoulders. But then her eyes suddenly widened with fright when three more knights appeared slamming their axe, sword and hammer onto her position. She was able to dodge it, but one of the attacks managed to slice through her cheek making her bleed. _"What the? That was fast…"_ she checked the blood again and turned towards the manga artist puzzled on what could've made her attack with such ferocity. But what she saw at that moment would've even made Rakan wet his pants.

Haruna was angry… dead seriously angry. Her eyes were burning with rage, her teeth gritting each other like saws on wood and her arm holding tightly onto her artifact like she was prepared to fight to the death. "I won't let you…" she spoke in a tone so threatening that it made shivers run through the vampress's spine. "If you plan to use him as your own personal play thing… then you will have to go through all of class 3-A first"

Eva was really frightened by Haruna's suddenly proclamation. Not once has she seen the manga artist this angry before and to see it first hand, she was regretting that she threatened her in the first place. "Hoo… what's this? Getting all angry because of a little threat to boyo?" one of the Haruknights attacked, but she simply destroyed it with a single wave of her hand. "Using such cheap tricks against me, won't wor--- gaahhh!" she was cut off when another of the knights caught her off guard by stabbing her with a spear. It was a good thing she was wearing her cloak or she would've been seriously wounded. "Gahhh!!!"

"If you think I'm going to allow you to pick on Negi again… then you are dead wrong" she summoned out six more knights into the room all equipped with weapons of medieval times.

"_What the hell!? She isn't supposed to be this good? Since when did idiot number 3 get this strong? I know that they went through training when they were away, but this kind of power can't be achieved in just two months"_ Eva was now in her serious mode after she blew away the second knight from the face of the earth. It was embarrassing to think that the queen of vampires would be caught unprepared by the apprentice of her apprentice. _"I'd understand if it was baka black or that Bookstore girl, but why the hell is she furious about?"_ she tried to decipher an theory, but none of them had any evidence to support… but it wasn't until she took a good look at Haruna, that she finally got the answer. _"Wait…… could she also be…? With Negi?"_

A flare raged at the back of Paru, giving out a hint that she was ready to fight to the death. "If it's a fight you want to satisfy your own agenda, then get ready to have your hands full Eva, cuz I'm not holding back!"

Haruna's anger unleashed. Will she be victorious against Evangeline and her dark magic? Or will she fall against the vampire queen and become bait? And where the hell is Negi!?


	6. Don't Knock on Death's Door

**Chapter 6: Don't Knock on Death's Door**

**(Forest near the old Ostian ruined capital)**

The waterfall spring near the old capital of Ostia was a grandeur of a place for anyone with a sense of Feng Shui to visit. It did not only provide sanctity for the animals around it, but also an abundance of food and water for anyone seeking refuge within its walls of green lush trees. To those that wish to escape from the harsh reality of life, they will be welcomed here with open arms. But to those with a wicked mind beware…… anyone who dares enter this forest with an evil intent, will find themselves marching back to whence they came.

But today, the waterfall was being used by Setsuna as she tried to cleanse herself in the purifying waters to wipe away her feelings. After she had ran away from her breakfast table, she came to this place and quickly stripped before diving into the bottom of the waterfall to meditate. Seeing that she was also alone, she did not care to show her angelic wings out to be washed as well.

She sat in a seiza stance and allowed the water to fall on her skin like hammer striking on a nail, but even with that heavy load cleansing her body, there was no possible way of cleansing one's soul. Even when she was supposed to remove every feint image of the boy from her mind, there always just seem to be more coming in from another source.

_"Ahh… this is no good"_ she sighed in defeat revealing the blush that she was holding back for a long time. _"I can't seem to get rid of this feeling in my chest. Usually it was easy for me to suppress my feelings for ojou sama, but this time, I can't even move it. This feeling…… it feels like it's engraved onto me"_ she closed her eyes and again try to break the mountain of her own deep feelings. But for her to do that, it almost felt like she was trying to dig a hole through the earth itself.

She tried again to suppress that horrible yet longing feeling down her heart she tried thinking of other people, other events, heck she even thought about making a Pactio card with Konoka, but the thought of it only made it worst. The more she tried to put that feeling away, Negi's face would appear in her mind, catching her off guard and resurfacing that emotion once more like a wine cork being popped open by a screw. "AHHH! No I'm thinking about him again! He's in my head!" she yelled out loudly like a crazed maniac. She didn't even know that some of the animals nearby were also watching her, puzzled and curious on what a girl like her would be yelling in a place like this. "Why is that every time I think of him, my hearts starts to go berserk!!? AHH!"

"Setsuna san!"

"Oh great, now I'm hearing his voice in my head too!!" she groaned annoyingly. "What is wrong with me!?"

"Setsuna san!" again she heard the voice, and this time it grew louder for some reason. "Setsuna san, where are you?"

"Please stop… I don't want to hear it" she sobbed comically in front of the waterfall. But after the third call she suddenly realized that it wasn't in her head. "Eh?" Negi was really calling for her. "Negi sama?" as she looked around the forest she could see that the animals had gone away when the voice called out to her. She tried to find the source and after awhile she realized that it was actually coming from above her. "AHH!"

"Setsuna san! Where are you?" Negi was riding on his staff carrying the girl's sword on one of his arm while the other holding onto his staff. "Setsuna san!!"

"N… n… n… n n… n… NEGI!?" the samurai literally squeaked her voice trying not to give out her location. She didn't know why but she was trembling from head to toe but it just felt like the right thing to do. _"What is he doing here!? This is supposed to be my sanctuary! How could he have trailed me all the way back here!?"_ she then unconciously hid behind a rock near the falls and hid her wings back in her body. "Wait a second... why the hell am I hiding for!?"

"Ahh… it looks like I lost her…" the boy sighed as he stopped in mid air. "I wonder what I said to make her angry? All I did was say hi and she even left her sword behind" he took another look around hoping to find the girl but there was no trace of her. "Maybe she's somewhere inside the forest. I can get a better view from inside if I use my ki senses" but then suddenly, just as the boy was about to land on a small clearing below him, a sharp stone suddenly flung onto his head, knocking him out like a light. "Gwahh!?"

If you are wondering who or what could've knocked out the great Negi Springfield with just one blow, then all you have to do is turn to the girl who was carrying another rock for a second throw. Out of desperation and thoughtless act, Setsuna shocked even herself as she saw the boy falling towards the ground. "Ah! Crap! What the hell did I just do!?" she screamed. "I knocked out sensei without a perfectly good reason! What the hell is wrong with me!? Sensei! I'm sorry" she dropped the second rock that she was about to throw, and dashed towards the crash zone where the boy teacher dropped in head on. "AHH man! This is all his father's fault! If he didn't say something like that, that night I wouldn't be feeling this way!"

But then with her mind currently in the topic, she suddenly began to imagine herself being a bride to Negi in a church saying their vows. She pictured herself in a bride suit designed specifically by Konoka and Negi in his dashing white suit waiting for her at the podium. All of her friends and classmates were there cheering out and saying congratulation… and even Nagi and his comrades were there too.

"AHH! Why the heck am I imagining these things!!! This is so indecent!! Stupid stupid stupid!!"

**(Hot spring area)**

In a small floating island town near the Ostian-Hellan main camp, Nagi and his old companions were cooling their bodies off at the hot spring to recuperate their bodies from the battle against Dark-Negi. Ever since they fought against the boy two nights ago they had not had a chance to fully recover their wounds even with magic. During their return trip to the main camp, the doctors on board Haruna's ship only managed to patch them up just to let them live long enough to get real treatment.

The proprietor of the hot spring of course was more than happy to accommodate the members of the Ala Rubra into his hot spring. Not only were they a famous bunch, but they also made the place pretty popular. Every farmer, worker, and employee of the hot spring quickly dropped what they were doing and loaded the hot spring to the maximum capacity just to get a glimpse of the legendary heroes that saved the world during the war twenty years ago.

"HACHOO!!" Nagi let out a sneeze. "Hmm… that's odd. I think I might've caught a cold"

"Maybe it was because you stayed up all night" Takahata noted.

**(The Great Paru Sama!)**

"Haaa… haaa… haaa… haaa… damn it…" Evangeline cursed and panted wearily in pain as she leaned on the wall of the ship. She was covered with bruises and cuts and more blood that could fill an entire blood bank for days. Her clothes were badly torn up and what was left of her shield-cape was shattered to pieces. Her battle with Haruna took a serious turn over and she was caught completely off guard when the girl unleashed her hidden rage upon her like a crazed lion defending its pups. Her powers alone rivaled against the great guardian dragon that protected the royal Hellas family, but to be caught unprepared against Paru, the artist was utterly unexpected. "This is humiliating… I had to actually get serious with her" she licked the tinkle of blood bleeding down her head and healed it with a small incantation. "To think that the boyo would actually have someone this strong…" she glared her eyes at Haruna, who stood motionless on the ground not far, her breathing feint and exhausted.

The young manga artist also had some bruises on both her arms and legs. Since Eva needed her alive to act as bait for her plans, she was unable to kill her... at least not yet. "Ohh… master" Chachazero cooed. "Master almost killed Haruna. Can I finish the job?" she took out her machete and placed it on the girl's neck. "Her blood will look so nice on the floor"

"No Zero" Eva dismissed that order with a wave of her hand. "I need her alive and I need some time to heal my wounds. Besides, you wouldn't want Negi and his father coming after you with everything they've got now, would you?" the mere thought of two of the most deadliest mage swordsmans after her head sounded too frightening even for Evangeline herself. If she was to put Negi and Nagi in one team and send them out against the Divine Warriors of Ostia, they'd probably win with their hands tied to their backs.

"Grr…" Paru gritted her teeth in anger as she reached for her artifact. "Damn it… I couldn't…"

"Oh?" Eva eyed her questioningly. "I'm amazed you still have the strength to move idiot number 3. Usually by now I would've sucked your whole body dry and left your body rotting in the sun. But I need you alive to be a part of my little experiment"

"L… like… like hell I will…" came her weary resisting voice. "I won't let you..." she tried to reach out for her artifact, but the strength in her body failed to acomplish that task.

"Sheesh, you're as stubborn as boyo. You should feel honored" the vampress grabbed the girl by her throat and pulled her p. "You actually managed to wound me and made me use my true powers. But like I said… this is for his sake, not yours"

"Grr…" Haruna tried to break free but there was no strength left in her arms to fight. She could barely even move her own fingers much less her body. "Just…… just what are you planning… Eva?"

"Nothing a lowly human like you would understand" she replied. But as she noticed Paru drifting into a state of unconsciousness, the vampire queen took a look at her soul and analyzed it for some clues of her heart. After a quick scan, she grew out a grin. "But you know… I was surprise to see you this angry. I was actually scarred for a moment. If one of your friends saw you in that state, they would be terrified as well. (pause) But you know… out of everything different about you and your baka rangers… you all have one thing in common (huh?) You all have given out your hearts to the same person. Am I right… Paru?" Haruna's eyes widened with realization to that thought, but she was not able to reply as the darkness took over and brought her to the world of dreams. "Hmph… a fitting end to a battle of this caliber. Zero!" she called to her doll.

"Yes mistress! You summoned me!?"

"Take the girl to my resort and tidy her up a bit and leave a note on that vermin over there for someone to find. Make it a challenge or a ransom note if you can"

"Yes! At once mistress!" Chachazero saluted before carrying Paru with her tiny hands. Even though she was small in size, her strength alone could match more than fifteen men even if she was not in her real form. "Come on idiot number 3" she cooed psychotically like a serial killer planning to go on a massacre in a fraternity house. "It's time to get up and get cleaned. You wouldn't want to be dirty when you get killed now would you? (silence) I thought so…"

But deep within Haruna's lunges, a feint hint of her being echoed a voice, barely enough for the vampress's bodyguard to hear. Her sad and hallow tears poured down as the thought of herself needing rescue once more, pained her like a needle struck into her heart. "Negi… sensei…" she spoke in a dying rasping voice "I'm sorry. I couldn't… protect you…" and with that, everything went dark.

**(Forest falls)**

"AAAH!!?" Negi rose from his sleeping position covered in hot sweat when a familiar voice echoed in his head. The voice sounded so real and so painful that it woke him up from his slumber. "Eh?" but then he tilted his head in question as he did not recognize the surroundings he was in. "Where am I…" he then remembered the incident that recently occurred to him. He remembered that he was about go out with Kotaro to get some breakfast until they met Konoka and the group. "Oh… yeah… I was out for breakfast then" he then remembered that Setsuna ran away after a sudden greeting from them. "I was looking for Setsuna in the forest because she left her sword and… owwwee!" but then the slightly painful bump on his head quickly reminded him of everything. "My head… what happened?" he then realized that he was on some sort of makeshift bed that was improvised using leafs for a blanket and a log as a pillow.

"Negi sensei?" came a voice from the side of his bed. Negi was able to recognize it as Setsuna's since she was the only one with the tough voice. She was staring a camp fire and preparing some fried fish that she caught from the nearby stream for the boy as an apology for making him skip breakfast just to chase her around, but she wasn't going to say that to him that much was for sure.

"Ah? Setsuna san?" but when Negi turned to her, his face immediately turned crimson red when he saw the samurai girl semi-nude. "WAHHHH!!!" he covered his eyes childishly and faced away. "Setsuna san, please put on some clothes!"

"Ah! I'm sorry sensei!" Setsuna quickly covered herself with her wings upon realization of her indecent figure and moved away to get her clothes. But she soon realize that they had fallen into the pool by a strong wind where she bathed earlier. "Oh no! My clothes!" so instead of wearing that she decided to put back on her sarashi. At least then Negi would be able to face her. After awhile, she returned with a sweat drop on her forehead. "I'm sorry about that, I was so busy making breakfast that I forgot to clean up ahehehe"

"That's ok Setsuna san" the boy replied still slightly embarrassed. "But how in the world did I get here? I remember I was flying a minute ago and then suddenly I lost consciousness…"

"Oh… uh…" she couldn't possibly tell her that she was the one who threw a rock at him and knocked him out or else it'll make her look bad. "You must've uh… been tired. Yeah! That's it! You were probably tired when you woke up this morning and went to sleep unconsciously ahehehe" like anyone would actually believe that story.

"Really?" Negi questioned still rubbing the aching part of his head. "I guess I didn't get enough sleep… and I must've hit the ground harder than I thought when I fell. My head hurts badly... ow!" he jerked off his hand from the spot where the rock hit him.

"Ahehehe… don't worry. I'm sure someone in the camp will be able to heal a small bruise like that" Setsuna waved it off. "Now since we're here, why don't we have something to eat? I'm sure that you didn't have breakfast"

The boy's stomach growled in reply. "Oh yeah… you reminded me ahehehe. Thank you" they sat around the camp fire and ate peacefully together for awhile. Though the food may have just been from nature without any spices it still tasted great for those who live outdoors most of the time like Negi and his students. After being hunted, chased and assaulted by bounty hunters, mercenaries and evil monsters with near demi-god-like powers a few months back, procuring food with limited resources and money made meals like this quite enjoyable. "By the way Setsuna san, why did you run off like that back at the camp? (Was it something I said?)"

"Oh… um no" she replied stuttering quickly thinking of an excuse to back her up, "I… uh… just remembered that I hadn't taken a bath since we arrived here at camp so I wanted to wash myself up"

"But we have a bathroom in the ship, don't we?"

"Ahh... well... it was occupied at the time so I decided to come here instead"

"Oh, so that's why you came to this place" the boy looked relieved. "I guess I should say that I'm not surprised. This place looks so peaceful. There are animals roaming around freely, the wind in your face and the birds signing in the tress… hehehehe… it almost feels like there isn't even a problem in the world"

Even though that last sentence sounded rather poetic for a child teacher of his age, it made Sakurazaki Setsuna realize something. _"Oh… that's right"_ she thought to herself putting down her fish-on-a-stick. _"With the outbreak of Fate and his golem army, he hasn't really been able to go around like this very often. Ever since we tried to stop Fate from getting the crown of twilight he's been going on mission after mission after mission with barely a day's break. The aid from the Snow Giants had him climbing to the tip of Heaven's hill and the dragons of the wyvern's cave had him fighting against five legendary dragons to a standstill battle. Afterwards he even went against the most powerful sea creatures to get the aid of the mermaid army. Hmmm…… now that I think about it… Negi even went alone to the Hellas Empire alone to get the aid of the royal family there and after that he's never even had one full break"_

"Hmm? Is something wrong Setsuna san?"

"Ahh… no, I'm alright. I was just thinking about something" she replied. _"Poor boy. He hasn't had any fun at all since we came here and the stress of getting everyone back home before the next semester is really getting to him"_

"Hey this fish is good. I wonder if there was a spell to make it salty" Negi wondered as he looked through a small spell book that he bought from a second hand store. "Let's see… spicy, sugary, sweet, sour, but no salty?"

"_Hmmm I guess I should allow him to relax today. Even if it just a short while" _the samurai girl thought before ruffling through her pockets and suddenly felt something in them "Hmm? What's this?" She took out an object which looked like a salt pack, like those you would see in coffee shops and fancy hotels. "Salt pack? How did that get there?"

"Oh wow! That's great Setsuna! (I never had magic world salt before!)" the boy said with glee. "Can I have it?"

"Uh... sure" she gave it to him still puzzled on how such a small object came into her pant pockets. She ruffled at it again and felt like there were more inside. "Huh? Eh? Sugar? Since when did I get that in my pockets? Honey drops? Mint candy?" more stuff just kept coming out of her pockets like some kind of a magic show and it looked like there was no end to it. "Eh?! (Lingerie!?) What the hell are these doing in my……… (CHAMO!!!)

"Eh? What's that?"

"N… nothing!!"

After finishing up their meal and dousing the fire with the water from the falls, Negi looked up into the sky and noted that it was still early and knew that probably at least half the class would still be asleep in the ship if not all of them. None of them were really morning people during summer vacation, and they would snooze their days away if they wanted to. At first he wanted to go back and see if everyone was doing alright, but when he caught sight of the forest waterfall, his stressed mind took over. "Wow…… this is awesome! I've never seen falls in a forest area before. This place looks like a perfect spot for a bath" he tested the temperature of the water and found it to be lukewarm thanks to the hot sun. There was an urge deep within him telling him to go in for a little dip, but his forced concious moved in to stop him.

"Do you want to go for a swim?" Setsuna appeared beside him, surprising the young mage.

"Setsuna… ahh… no. I probably shouldn't" the boy rejected walking away from the pool. "We should get back to camp soon. I wouldn't want to worry the others by being gone for so long" but then suddenly without any warning whatsoever, the girl pushed him into the pool with a gentle yet forceful push. "Wahh!?" the boy fell as expected and by the time he came back up he was already soak from body to his clothes. "What was that for Setsuna san!?"

"Hehehe… oops, sorry my hand slipped" she chuckled slightly humored by the boy's cute face.

"That's a lie! You pushed me on purpose!"

"Come on now, you really wanted to swim, didn't you Negi sensei?" Setsuna quickly jumped in and join the boy, letting out her wings in the process. "Come on now sensei, I'm sure no one will get hurt if you rest just for a little while. You've been stressed out all week and you can't face an enemy when you're exhausted"

"But…"

She placed her index finger on his lips to stop him from speaking. "If you don't then you might collapse in front of your enemy and no one will be there to help you"

"But… we're almost about to go to battle! This isn't a time for relaxing, we should be preparing"

"And that's exactly why we need to relax" she stated leaning her back on some well shaped rocks. "Relaxing is also part of preparing for battle. If you don't calm your stress then you won't be able to handle the troubles that occurs. If Asuna san was here, she'd say the same th..." she quickly clasped her mouth in the slip of a tongue of the girl's name. Negi's face seemed rather suklish after hearing the princess's name. It was probably because he missed her more than anyone in class. Asuna wasn't just another student to Negi. To him, he was an important friend and a second sister. But not only that. To the ancient world, she was princess and to Nagi, she was someone who he promised to protect. "... I'm sorry sensei..."

"Oh don't be" the boy waved it off. "But you are right. I really should relax for awhile. Asuna would probably hit me again if I push myself too hard" he then undressed himself down to his boxers and rejoined the girl onto the pool. "Waa… this is so refreshing. It almost feels like you're in one of those hot springs back in Japan"

"Hehehe… you're right. This also reminds me of the bathing area in the dorm house back in Mahora" she recalled about that old place where the girls used to bath and laugh out loud together. "It was a bit bigger and there was also a second floor balcony place. Do you remember sensei?" but Negi only shivered at the recollection of those memories. "Ara… he remembers the bad things (I forgot, the girls used to tease him in that place all the time)"

"Oh yeah" he lowered his face halfway into the water "I used to have nightmares about that place. (Everyone bullied me into washing all parts of my body till I was squeaky clean)"

"_Oh dear… it looks like I'm only adding more stress into him"_ Setsuna let down a sweat drop. But then her eyes came to contact with a large rock which was ideal for back rubs. "Ah that's it. Negi sensei, come with me, I want to show you something" she dragged the boy to the rock. "Here… this is a massage rock" she explained. "Animals tend to use these to scratch their backs or massage their aches. It's not often used by people but this one should give good rub"

"What? Really? I've never heard of such thing"

"Here sensei, just put your back on the rock and push back like you were lying on a pillow. But make sure it's a wet spot"

Negi tried it, but it didn't exactly turn the way Setsuna wanted it. "Oww…" he tried again at another area but again it resulted to the same, making a red scratch onto his back. "Owww!" he tried again on another area but as usual it did not work, "Ouch! Setsuna san, I don't think I can do this"

"Hehehe… I guess your body isn't suited for it yet"

"I guess so... ow" the boy rubbed his aching shoulders in pain. As if the smack on his head wasn't enough already. "But you know…… this rock… kind of reminds me of the time when you and I first talked to each other. (Huh?) Remember that time during our trip in Kyoto? I first thought that you were a spy from the Kansai Magic Association, but then you actually turned out to be Konoka's bodyguard. Hehehehe… you almost sliced me in half too if it wasn't for my height"

A/N: See Mahou Sensei Negima Chapter 29: The Naked Spy

"Ahehehe… sorry about that" the girl apologized also remembering the incident. "I wasn't aware that it was actually a mixed bath so I thought that you might've been the assassin aiming for ojou sama"

"T… that's ok. As long as no one got hurt. Besides the past is the past so there's nothing we can do about it, right?" he let out a fake laugh, which went on unnoticed.

"I guess you're right" she smiled in return. "In any case, why don't you let me scrub your back as an apology? Come on, I'll make you feel good"

"Wha!? No that's ok! I don't really need any…" but in the end, the boy was forced to submit to her and was given a back scrub. But since there was no sponge or soap, Setsuna decided to use the small grains of stones instead. (This technique is uncommon but used by some countries in Asia as a substitution for sponge) "Oww... it kinda hurts Setsuna san"

"That's because you're not relaxing" she reasoned. "Try releasing your stress muscles at the back and let the stone do the rest"

The boy did what she instructed and allowed his muscles to relax for a bit. After awhile, he began to feel the pain numbing away. "Ahh…… hey you're right… this does feels good"

"See? Now bend your back a little and allow all your stress to be washed away"

Negi complied wholeheartedly with the girl's orders and leaned back. His pain washed away as if they were melting. But as he was on his pleasure cruise he notted Setsuna's wings covering him, forming a shield to block the sun rays from getting him. "Oh… Setsuna san... I've been wondering for awhile now"

"Hmm?"

"You said that you were a Hanyo right? (nod) Then how come you have white wings?" the girl flinched slightly at his words asking about her past. She had never mentioned anything about her history before even during her time in Mahora.

"Oh... well... I..." she shifted around a bit uneasy to the question. "It's a long story really... it's not something worth mentioning"

"Well… it must be nice to have wings" the boy cooed to her feathers. "I always wondered how it would be like to fly without a staff. But I guess white wings must mean you're pretty special huh?"

Setsuna froze at that statement as a hidden feeling of sadness resurfaced from a long history of herself. She retracted her wings and allowed Negi to lie on her lap. "Actually… it's not as nice as it looks or sound…" she began. "In fact… I guess you may as well call them unnatural wings. (Huh?) Back in my tribe when I was still young, everyone in the village had black wings. It was a symbol of strength and pride to the tribe and everyone expected great things from me. (pause) When I was born, it was all fine since my wings were barely visible. But as I grew older, you wouldn't believe how the villagers reacted when they saw my wings white"

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I'm not certain of the whole story" she answered still looking afar like she was trying to recall the old memories that she had hoped to forget. "Everything I know is just a recollection of my childhood memories and the words from Eishun sama"

"Konoka's father?"

"Yes…… they said that having white wings is an ill omen and so by the time I was able to fly on my own, they exiled me from the village to make me fend for myself in the wilderness"

"That's horrible!" Negi jerked out from her lap in surprise to a recent discovery. "That's so cruel even to one so young! Your parents must've been so against it! They must've done something to keep you in"

"No…" was her soft and sad reply. "They didn't. The village elders didn't take to my white wings very kindly and even called them 'despicable' in front of my face (Negi: Wha! That's horrible!). So by their decision I was cast out"

"Well that is absolutely unforgivable!" Negi said enraged. "Just because you had a different set of wings doesn't mean that you're any different from the rest of them! Your parents must've done something! At least they should've gone with you!"

"No… they couldn't" she stated, making the boy pop an imaginary question mark on his head. "Since they were the ones who banished me… in the first place"

"WHAT!? Your parents were the ones who exiled you!?" Negi screamed in shock.

"Yes………"

…

…

…

…

"_Then it is decided. By the decision of the village elder, you are hereby exiled from the Honyas and never you will be able to return!"_ the voice echoed silently in her head like an old gong ringing after years of dormant sleep.

…

…

…

The horrible sounds and voices that lingered on the back of the girl's head began to resurface again after years of being locked away. She could not recognize many of the voices, but she could tell that they were not friendly. "Ha..." she sighed. But then she was interupted when she noted a crying sound from her teacher.

"Oh… Setsuna… (sob)" Negi let out a sniffing sound with miniature tears coming at the corner of his eyes. "I never knew you had such a history. And to think that you were always able to put up a brave face after all these years… wooo…!"

But Setsuna only returned to him a smile. "Well… you could say it was rough at first. But when I was found by Eishun sama, I was given a new life with Konoka ojou sama at her house (pause) I was fed and taught… and I even made a friend. (deep pause) But I guess as long as I have these ugly wings… it will forever be remain as a curse to me"

"That's not true!" Negi rose up from the water and looked at the half-demoness with his eyes that just screamed NO. "How could you possibly say that Setsuna san!? Those wings are a part of you. You can't go and call them ugly jsut because other people called them ugly. I don't think your wings are ugly at all" he let out a small smirk on his face and let his passion form around Setsuna. "In fact, they look a lot more like angel wings like those you see in cartoons or movies"

"That's kind of you to say sensei, but I don't think…"

"And I don't think that they're a curse either!" he cut her off with a yell. "I don't really know how you feel to be rejected by your own people Setsuna but I know what might've come afterwards. (pause) When you feel like you can do absolutely nothing to change your destiny or pick the road you wish to take… you would feel… sort of angry. That is how I felt when my village was attacked six years ago. To be nothing more but an insect in the face of a person much stronger than you… to be weak and pathetic. (long pause) I know well how that feels"

"Negi… sensei…"

"But…… I don't think your wings are a curse. In fact… I think they're more of a blessing or a good luck charm" he added "Because, if it weren't for your wings, I would never have met you and neither would any of us at all. Because Setsuna san is a good friend of mine and a very special person to me… so her wings are also special to me. (pause) They alone, carried you all the way from the magic world to Mahora academy…"

"Negi…"

"Now stop being so glum and enjoy. Your people may not accept you… but I definitely do. As a partner, a friend and a living being"

Somehow, Setsuna was able to find passion in his words. Like a haven in the middle of all the chaos. Again she could not find any hint of hesitation or lies, but she knew this because she knew that Negi was popular of speaking from his heart. It made her want to cry but instead she cracked a smile. "Hmm… thank you Negi… sensei"

"Woo… that was amazing Negi kun" Konoka added sobbing. "Your words were always inspirational to all of us"

"Oh don't cry ojou sama. I'm not sad at all" Setsuna turned to her young mistress.

"But you were exiled from your own home. That's horrible" she continued to cry comically.

…

…

…

…

…

…

"EHHHHHH!!!!!!!" by the time they realized that the young mistress was there the two of them jumped like crazy hyenas being surprised by a lion. "OJOU SAMA!! (Konoka san!?) When did you get here!?"

The young mistress was not wearing anything at all save but a simple towel that she brought with her to cover her chest. "Oh I was here for about five minutes now" she answered in her happy carefree tone. "But Set chan… why didn't you tell me that you had such a sad history (sob). That story made me want to cry"

"O… ojou sama!" but then the young lady surprised her when she clasped onto her hands. "Uh…"

"Why didn't you tell me this? You know you can tell me anything Set chan"

"I… I… I didn't think it was worth mentioning to you…" Setsuna looked away as if trying to avoid facial contact. "It was just another story…"

"But it's your past Set chan" Konoka motioned closer to her face. "If I had known of this earlier I would've tried to find a solution to help you. (pause) Please… don't lock me out. I'm your friend and I really want to help you"

Setsuna face flushed to her as if wanting to say something, but none of the words in her head could describe what she was really trying to say. "I…… ok… Kono chan…"

"I tell you, if I knew about this earlier, I would've marched straight into that old town and give them a piece of my mind!"

"Please ojou sama. It's nothing to worry about. It's long since passed since I've seen my family so there's not really much of a point" but then that last sentence suddenly gave Negi an idea.

"Hey… that's a great idea Konoka san!" the boy clutched his hand together . "Why don't we go to Setsuna's hometown? Since we're here now, we shouldn't waste our journey without visiting Setsuna's place!"

"EHHH!?" Setsuna yelped.

"Really Negi sensei!?" Konoka was surprised that the boy would've agreed to such a plan so quickly. She thought that it would require some tears and a little drama to get the boy in, but this worked pretty well. "Can we really go?"

"Hey… wait a minute…"

"Emmm!" he raised his fist with a proud determined face. "I was moved by Setsuna's story and to let her go on like that is not an option! I will get the others and ask Haruna san to prepare the ship for takeoff immediately!"

"Umm hello?"

"Yay! Negi sensei, you're the best!" Konoka grabbed the boy into a sisterly hug. "I knew I could count on you! We're going to Set chan's place! Weee!"

"O… oi…"

"Right then! We sail to the village of the Hanyos today!"

"HEYY!!" Setsuna barked out finally. "Don't I get a saying in this!?"

"Denied!" stated the two compatriots of the samurai girl with their foot down.

**(White Citadel) (Asuna's room)**

Asuna was in her room that morning looking at herself in the mirror and combing her hair while she was at it. But no matter how many times she looked at herself, she couldn't help but feel like she was looking at a complete stranger. She was far different from the girl she used to be two months ago. Her mind now had two sets of memories, both of which were real and yet the same time fake. One was the part when she enrolled into Mahora as a student and became a part of the community for over five or six years. The other was the time when she was the imperial princess of Twilight and the destroyer of the old capital of Ostia. Her hair was untied and the clothes she wore looked very alien to her. Her imperial robes garbed together with a silver plated armor combined with the most precious amulets known to the world. Heck... her clothes alone can buy you an entire neighborhood in Kyoto.

When she finished combing her long straight hair and placing the last touches of makeup on her face, she took a good look at herself again and sighed miserably. "No matter how I look at myself it still doesn't look like me" she mumbled. As she felt her heart going down the drain like a train heading for a deadend she suddenly remembered that she still those small knickknacks to cheer her up. She looked around for a moment to see if anyone was nearby her room. Seeing that the hallways were empty and not a soul in sight she opened up a secret compartment from her drawers and opened a small box contained within. The bells that was given to her by Takahata was in there but due to the stress of age and time and constant fighting that she got into, it was not surprising to see them damaged.

"Takahata sensei…" she muttered out his name as she placed the bells on her chest. These bells represented her past self during her time in Mahora and it symbolized everything she ever was back then. She took one look at them with a slight tear falling down her eyes before she placed them back. She then pulled another object from the box . It was the pactio card that she made with Negi.

Ensis Exorcizans (AKA: Witch Hunters) were the words written on the card. This card alone saved her life many times before during the constant battles that occur around Negi when she was still with him. The power it possessed was immense and it proved to be more effective than any weapon she can hold on to.

"Negi…" the image of the boy's face became somewhat transparent in her mind at that moment. She wanted to speak with the boy just once, but doing that will also compromise everyone that she was with. She wanted to speak to him, see him, touch him, hell she would walk through the gates of the underworld just to even get a glimpse of him again. It was right then that she recalled that the pactio card had one special power that was unique among masters and partners. It allowed both the contract holder and the mage to communicate telepathically without fear of anyone listening. "I… I guess a little word won't hurt…" she slowly moved the card onto her head to begin the telepathic communication. "Just say congrats, that's it" she gulped. But before she could even set the link chain up...

"I hope you're not doing what I think you're doing your highness" a voice came from the door of her room catching the girl off guard.

"Fate!?" she yelled out surprise. "W... when did you...?"

"I don't need to use any of my powers to know that you are troubled, princess. It is written right all over your face"

"W… w… w w… what the hell are you doing here!? Don't you it's rude to come into a girl's room!? You could've at least knocked!" she barked at him, hiding the pactio card on her back.

"I did. Twelve times actually" he answered as coldly as ever. He then approached her, with his eyes scanning around like he was expecting something to pop out and attack him. "But I never got a reply" he then scanned her face from top to bottom like he was looking at a portrait. "So... are you troubled, princess?"

"N… no… of course not!" she replied blushing slightly. "Why would I be troubled? And stop calling me princess or your highness. I have a name you know"

"I know of that. But that would be rude for someone of my status" he smirked slightly. "The reason why I can see you are troubled is because you are holding on to your old pactio card" he answered back making the girl jerk backwards in her combat stance. "This is troubling… if you still harbor feelings for any of them then it is certain that we cannot launch our attack"

"W… why not!?"

"Your presence alone stagnates from the rest, making it impossible for neither of us to work closely" he explained. "Which makes me question your loyalty to your own cause"

"Are you saying that I'm a spy!?"

"That is a possibility" he turned back looking closely at the doorway. "It would explain a lot on why you are still here by my side. Your presence alone in this palace is a great risk to our operations and that pactio card contract allows a special one way communication from the partner to the master, which makes it impossible for anyone to eavesdrop on your conversations. I would admit that even I would not be able to break it even with my most powerful spells"

"I've done too much to allow this to happen! What makes you think that I…"

"You still have the pactio card, do you not?" he cut her off with a stare that would've made the divine warriors themselves take a step backwards. "How can I know that you haven't already given Negi and his forces the details of our army and not to mention our new weapons against them? you know every layout of this fortress like that back of your hand. Who knows, you may have already given them every weakpoints and weaknesses of each of my partners"

"I would never…"

"Then prove it!" he spoke out with a slightly louder tone, making Asuna jerk back again. "If you want to prove your loyalty, then you need to do but one thing"

Asuna didn't trust the boy one bit, but if it was to achieve her own goals then she was willing to go through it. "What… what do I need to do?" Fate smirked at her face and flicked his finger signaling someone to enter.

"Enter…" he said to the person on the other side of the door which Asuna was surprised that she did not detect. Her detection skills were usually up the scale when she is on her alert mode, but what came in… was something completely unexpected for her. "Your majesty, allow me to introduce to you to Negi golem number 1"

"Hello Asuna san" the Negi golem smiled in the same expression Negi would do. "How are you today?"

"W… what the hell is this!?" the princess barked in anger.

"While you were busy sleeping, I decided to make one of this golem as a test for you" Fate grinned. "It's quite simple really… all you need to do… is break it"

It sounded a lot harder than said for Asuna…

"Hello... Asuna san..."

**(Back at the Ostia-Hellas force camp) (Commander's tent)**

"WHAT!!" were the words that came out of Ricardo's and Theodora's mouth when Negi arrived at their tent with Setsuna and Konoka. After the boy had relaxed in the falls and after listening to Setsuna's tale about the Crow Demons, he immediately formed a plan on how to convince them to join their fight. "Go to the Demon Crow's village!?"

"Yes" Negi answered as he began to explain his plan. With his charismatic abilities, it was pretty easy for him to win in an argument against politicians. "I thought about this a little earlier but I couldn't find the time to say it to you. I've noticed that the majority of our air force comes from air ships and the dragons from Hellas. I realized that Fate would probably use the majority of his air golems to take down the size of our fleet. That's why I decided to go to the village of the Hanyos to request for their aid. They are the strongest flying warriors in the whole magic world and their help would greatly aid our army against Fate's forces"

"It is a good idea… to have them join us…" Ricardo placed his hand on his chin a little persuaded by the boy's intellect, "But… cutting it this close to battle time?"

"We have already adjusted our troops here to the maximum possibility" Theodora yelled out slamming her hand on the table. "To add even more troops in the sky would only make the whole place crowded for our troops"

"But do you remember how those flying golems took down our patrol ships?" Ricardo motioned to a past event that Negi must've missed. "Our ships barely stood a chance against their strength and their small figure makes them hard to hit. Acording to our officers, they barely stood a chance even with their mages on deck"

"I agree… we have suffered heavy losses during that time but it is already far too late to bring anymore! The eve of battle is tomorrow and to have the hero go off at the most crucial time is unthinkable. The operation would be futile without him!"

"But Theo san…"

"Don't Theo san me!"

"As much as I like to have the Hanyos on our side Negi, I'm afraid Theodora is right" Ricardo huffed dejected. "We need you here in this base or else the plan will not succeed since you are the only one who is capable of breaking through to the third dimensional space" the commander gave out a valid and logical reason, which seemed rather hard to argue with. "Besides… the Hanyos are a nomadic tribe. It is likely they have moved from one location to the next and even if you do find them, they won't easily join us just because we asked them too. They only help each other and they rarely make contacts to the outside world even rarer to speak with a human"

"Oh…… I see…" Negi said dejected by the reasons. "That's... why..."

"But I have a feeling they will on this one" came a voice that interrupted the meeting. The gang turned around and were shocked to see two of the most respective mages that reside in the known world. Eishun and Konoemon Konoe. "Hello there Negi" the father of Konoka raised his hand up to greet the young mage.

"Eishun san/sama!?" Negi and Setsuna were surprised to see the mages except for Konoka who simply leaped up and hugged her father and her grandfather.

"Father! Grand father!" she called them with the same tone she does to everyone. "When did you two get here? How did you get here? Did you bring any presents or souvenirs from earth?"

"Hello again Konoka" Eishun patted his daughter's head lightly ignoring the barrage of questions.

"We just got here to tell honest" the principal of Mahora answered rubbing his long white beard. "We planned to surprise both you and Negi but it looks like our little drop came a bit unexpected. The other teachers and mages from Mahora are here as well"

"When father here heard that a 10 year old boy was mustering an army against Fate, we immediately knew that it was you" Eishun added. "When Konoemon heard about it, he gathered up everyone from school and came to me personally like without bodyguards. I was really surprised. Oh and we've been hearing rumors that the Thousand Master Nagi himself is here" he looked around hoping to see his old friend. "Where is he? I would like to meet him in person and catch up on old times"

"Wait a minute Eishun san" Negi interrupted. "What did you say about this Hanyos agreeing to help us?"

The man slowly recomposed himself before facing the boy. "Well… as you all know, I used to be an explorer and a researcher after the war twenty years ago. Before I met Setsuna on that fateful day in the mountains I worked with Albireo Imma on researching the culture of many nomadic species in the world. That of course... included the Demon Crows, AKA: Hanyos. I will not lie that they are a selfish race that only aid themselves and will rarely help others unless there's something for them in return"

"You could say that they're a flock of mercenaries" Konoemon added bluntly. "No offense though Setsuna (nod) They sell their services to the highest bidder and move from one place to the next like nomads that they are. They are fierce warriors that much is true and their strength can even match a young dragonling"

"Also... finding them would be an impossible task" the leader of the mage association sighed. "They hide themselves within the mountains of Kael and their camps are usually hidden among the fogs which would take you weeks to find even with a ship. They don't show their faces to anyone without a reason to do so"

"S... so... how do we find them Eishun san?"

He paused for a moment like he was trying to recollect some old memories."Tell me Negi… do you know of the Gryphon?"

"Gryphon? (nod) Yes... of course. It's a mystical beast that resides in the slopes of Mt. Kael" the boy explained briefly. "They're kind of endangered at the moment so there are only about a few hundred of them around the world. They possess no magical qualities but they're strong enough even to take down dragons if given time"

"Oh... I see you have a wide knowledge on mythical creatures just like your father. But anyway, you are correct… and apparently the Hanyos praise these Gryphons to be their deities and they say whoever possesses a feather of the beast is blessed with god's strength"

"I think I remembered that" Setsuna interrupted. "I remember seeing an outsider coming to the village with a feather in his hand"

"Yes… apparently the Hanyos consider that feather to be a symbol of strength and will grant anyone who possesses one an audience with the village elders. It has been sought by many warriors before but Gryphons aren't exactly the monsters that you would be hunting on a regular basis"

"Then all we need is a Gryphon feather and we can go into their village without any problems?" Konoka spoke up slightly puzzled.

"Exactly. If you hold the feather somewhere near the tip of Mt. Kael, they will show themselves to you without hesitation"

"Right! Then I guess our first destination will be Mt. Kael!" Negi declared. "I'll go tell Haruna san to get the ship ready!"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!!!!" Theodora roared out. "NOBODY MOVE A MUSCLE UNTIL I SAY SO!!!" they all seemed slightly terrified by the woman's prowess and decided to shut up and listen. "Do you even understand what you guys are doing!? We're in the most critical stages of our plans and you think you can just go off for another cruise vacation trip!? Who do you think you are!?"

"But Theo san…"

"Don't Theo san me kiddo! This is not a vacation we're on! This is a war! We can't people going on around without a care in the world! What if the enemy decides to move ahead and attack us first!? What do you think will happen!?"

"But Theo san! You always said that we needed all the help we can get and the Hanyos are the closest thing we have to that help. Just give us one day! I'll make a trip to Mt. Kael and to the village and then back here right before dinner!"

"Like hell you are!" the princess stared at the young boy with all sorts of malice in her face. But Negi's eyes brimmed with more determination than ever and there was no certainty that he was going to back down.

"Well I guess there's not really much of a choice" Ricardo sighed in defeat of the boy's negotiation. "If Negi is determined to do this then I guess we can postpone the plan for two or three more days"

"WHAT!!?" Theodora barked in surprise. "What the hell are you talking about Ricardo!? Don't betray me now!"

"Hey easy princess. You know as well as any of the leaders in this camp. When the boy is that determined, he's gonna go even if you told him not to. He's ten after all. How else do you think that we allowed him to go look for his father in the first place" the girl soon found herself at odds at that moment when she realized that everyone in the tent was against her. Knowing that she was on the losing side now, she sat back on her chair and groaned. "Alright… it seems like everyone is in agreement. Negi, we'll give you three days tops to convince the Hanyos to join us. If you cannot do that by the allotted time, then you will have to return to the camp to prepare for battle. Is that understood?"

"Yes… commander Ricardo san" Negi stated gratefully. "Thank you" he bowed

"_Ahhh… that sounded so nice coming from a ten year old"_ the commander thought peacefully like he was somekind of teacher in a school.

"Yay Negi sensei! Good work!" Konoka hugged the boy tightly on the chest. "You never fail to help me. Thank you!"

_"To actually convince both leaders of great nations again…" _Setsuna thought respectfully to the boy teacher. _"Negi sensei… you really are a genius. It appears my opinion of you has grown even more"_

"Alright! It's time to head off!" Negi declared. "I'll go get the others and tell Haruna immediately!" but just when the boy was about to leave, his students suddenly rushed into the tent all with horrified looks plastered on their faces. "Waaahhh!"

"Negi sensei!" Makie cried out.

"W… what is it Makie san?"

"Its… it's… it's Chamo" the girl showed to him the wounded ermine which looked like he was beaten up by some monster. "We found him in the ship like this…" he had bruises and cuts but nothing fatal which relieved the boy.

"AHH! Chamo san, are you alright!?" Negi held onto his little pet-adviser gently trying to listen what he had to say.

"I'll… I'll be fine aniki…… but right now… Paru nee san… is in trouble"

"Paru? Haruna? Where? What happened?" Chamo simply showed him a letter that was left to him by the least person he wanted to meet right now. After scanning through the contents of the letter, Negi's eyes widened with worries. "Evan… geline…?"


	7. To Go Beyond Your Limits

**Chapter 7: To Go Beyond Your Limit**

A storm brewed closely at the camp that afternoon. Its roaring thunder cracked at the distance and its horrid depressing clouds loomed over all light, blocking the sun as if it owned the sky. A battle was about to begin that moment… but it has yet to even start for the main actors of the play were not yet in position.

"Negi sensei!" the girls rushed out slightly worried as the boy teacher dashed from the commander's tent after receiving the letter from his pet ermine. "Sensei, is everything alright?"

"Everyone please stay right where you are" he ordered not slowing down his pace one bit. He then took quicker steps and followed the dirt path made by the soldiers so that they could easily navigate through the large camp. "I… I have something to do for a moment. Please wait for me at the ship. I'll explain everything later!"

"Hey! Negi sensei!" Chisame called out but to no avail. The boy was already far ahead through the crowd of soldiers to hear her. "Oh great… he's keeping us in the dark again" she sighed. "Like hell I'm gonna wait for him. Come on, let's follow!"

"Right!" and with that cheer, the girls were off, leaving behind a small group of old men to wonder what had just happened a few seconds ago.

"_Damn it!"_ Negi cursed under his breath. _"What is master planning!? If she hurts Haruna san… I… I won't forgive myself!"_ after making a mad dash towards the vampress's tent, he suddenly found the place to be empty save but a few furnitures which she brought along from the other world and of course her magical resort which stood ominously at the center of the room. "She must be in there" there was a note tied to the glass which had his name on it. He took it down and read its contents.

'Don't bring anyone…' that were the only words written on it.

**(Eva's resort)**

"Emmm…" Paru groaned out as she finally woke up from a six hour nap (time in the resort moves differently). After she was defeated by Evangeline in the struggle on board her ship, Chachazero dragged her wounded body to the resort without any hindrance at all. Sure there were some odd glances coming from the soldiers that she passed by, but other than that, it was peachy. "Where am I?" she looked at the familiar surroundings of the resort and noticed a bowl of banana split lying on the table next to her. "Oh… banana split" she tried to reach out with her hands before realizing that they were actually chained onto the floor. "What the!? Hey what the heck is going on!?" she appeared to be in the top floor of the resort where it doubled as a pavilion, but the chains that she was tied on seemed to be a new addition to the place.

"Oh… you're up Kiotome san" Chachamaru entered the scene after hearing the girl's voice. "I see that you are awake. I was expecting you to sleep for a few more hours"

"Chachamaru?" as the girl rose up from her sleeping position, she quickly remembered the past events that had happened. She fought Evangeline till the last bit of her strength but even with all her might, she was unable to defeat that ancient vampire. "Ahh! Evangeline! Where!? Where is she!? Why I'd… owww!" but the sudden movement of her body made the old pain that she received resurface. "Arghh…… my arm…"

"Please don't move too much" the android urged. "The wounds on your body had not sufficiently healed yet. My master has nearly put you in a critical state when you fought"

"Damn… did she have to be so rough? What in the world is she planning? And why the heck am I in chains?"

"It appears that master needed you as 'bait' as she calls it" Chachamaru explained. "I do not know of her real intentions but it appears that she wishes to bring Negi here again"

"Then why bring me of all people!? And what's with the banana split!?"

"Oh that?" she pointed the tasty treat. "Yes… I found that odd as well. My master told me to make this and placed it just beyond your reach for some reason"

"_Oh… I see. Heh… that's a classic grade A torture" _Haruna groaned in her head. "Oh wait… that's right… I have to warn Negi. I have to tell him that it's a trap!" she quickly reach out for her pockets to find her pactio card only to find out that it was no longer there. "Eh?"

"Looking for this?" came Evangeline's voice from the archway. She was dangling the pactio card that Paru was looking for in between her fingers and grinning evilly like a lich queen of the medieval times. "Don't bother. Telepathic communications don't work here in the dome since the time vectors work differently in this space"

"You! What the hell are you planning!?" Paru barked angrily like an untamed beast chained against its will. "If you think I'm gonna collaborate with your plans then you can forget it! Grrr!" she tried to force her wrist through the chains but it was no good. If she put any more force into it, she might as well rip her hands right now. "Ow…"

"Sheesh… you're like a lion being kept in a zoo" Eva sighed walking towards her prisoner. "Don't feel bad. You're not going to be here long. You'll just be a part in my little experiment with little boyo"

"Dammit, what are you planning!? If you think about hurting him again I'll…"

"Oh my my… what anger hohohoho. You know… you're beginning to sound like that baka black and bookstore girl (Eh?) Your face, your passion, your anger…… I have to admit that you even took me by surprise when you shouted like that. Who knew that a girl like you had a really scary side behind her face all this time? It sounded like you were a knight trying to protect your princess"

"Umm you know… with that cute body of yours, I can't really take your words seriously. (It kinds of ruins your evilness)"

"Yeah… I agree" Chachazero nodded in agreement. "When master says it like that in that body, it kind of feels like she was a kid pretending to be a vampire"

"I was thinking more of a kindergartener in a school play, but that works too" Paru chuckled.

A vein literally throbbed on Eva's head when they could bear to take her words seriously. She wanted to crush the girl in front of her so bad but in doing so would invoke the wrath of Negi, and that wouldn't be nice… not one bit. "Oh perhaps if she wore a costume" Chachazero then began imagining how Eva would look if she was wearing a cute bear costume. "Maybe even a bunn…y" she was stopped in her sentence when the vampress took her by the ear and kicked her all the way to the falls on the exterior of the resort.

"SHUT THE HELL UP YOU STUPID DOLL!!!!" her kick was so great and so powerful that Paru couldn't help but to let her imagination run wild. She imagined Evangeline as the kicker of an American professional football team and she kicked the ball right through the goal post without even taking a breather. And Chachamaru was also there blowing the whistle signaling the end of the game.

"Wow… that's a good kick" she muttered.

"SO! You can't take me seriously, can you!?" the vampire pulled the girl by her collar showing her fangs as a threat. "Let's see if you can still joke around when I unleash my evil on you!"

"Ah… but master" Chachamaru stopped her. "You said it yourself that we shouldn't harm her unless we intend to really anger Negi sensei" she warned nervously as she also knows how it would be like to see Negi really angry. She once caught a glimpse of how furious Negi can be when he first arrived at the magic world. It was terrifying, so much so that it would make Haruna's fearsome anger look like a dog barking.

The vampress stopped herself from succumbing onto Paru's neck and retracted her fangs before she did anything foolish. She did not know how Negi would be like if he unleashed total anger upon her. She only saw him becoming serious or intimidating, but anger seemed to have skipped her face. "Hmph… you're right. I guess I'll just have to find a none lethal and painless way of torturing her. Oh I know, how about if I use this?" she pulled out a mace with dragon tooth as spikes on it.

"No…" the android stated.

"Then how about this?" she pulled out a flame thrower out of nowhere. "Negi wouldn't mind if she was a little 'well done' now. Don't ya think?"

"I think he would notice a big difference master"

"Ok then, how about this?" she pulled out a gas powered chainsaw from her stash and started the engine.

"HELL NO!" this time it was Haruna who shouted.

"I agree with Kiotome san" Chachamaru shook her head in response. "That would only leave a big stain on the carpet"

"Tch!" the vampress groaned and threw the chainsaw away just barely missing Haruna by the face. "Well this is no fun. The only suitable non-lethal torture I can think of right now is having Rakan here giving this lady a kiss. (pause) Oh…… but I guess we can do… something else then…"

"Eh?" Paru gulped a chunk of her own saliva as she was worried on what ill intent the vampire had for her. She was thinking at first that Eva would put her in some kind of torturing machine and leave her there until she cried for death or perhaps being whipped on her buttocks until it burns red. But what Eva had intended for her made Haruna begging for mercy. "AHHH!! What the hell is this!?" in just a few minutes, Haruna was redressed into an outfit which Evangeline seemed to have saved during her time as a vampire queen. It was a long but very revealing aqua dress with frills which covered her neck and arms and a long skirt that just screams princess. Though it was somewhat indecent it more inconvenient parts of the body, it still had that royal glow in it.

"Mwahahahahahha!! Now do you think I'm evil!?"

"Is this some new form of torture!? This dress makes me look like a kid from the royal palace!"

"Mwahahahaha! That's the point exactly!" she laughed manically. "But don't sweat it, the costume is just to add the atmosphere. This is just to make sure that boyo is fighting with a little distraction"

But then suddenly, Chachamaru's radar began to pick up some interference in her communication. "Ah… master… he's here"

"Oh… that was quick" Eva grinned. "Alright… looks like it's your turn on stage idiot number 3"

**(Back with the girls)**

"WHATT!! Haruna's was kidnapped by Eva!?" Chisame yelped at the near top of her lunges as Chamo explained the details of the situation to her. When Negi disappeared into the deeper parts of the camp, the ermine decided that none of the other girls should know of what was happening and only rely this information to the one he trusts.

"Shhh! Please, not so loud" Chamo groaned. "The others might hear" they were in a small space in between two large tents whispering and gossiping like they were plotting a coup. "But yeah… that's the gist of it. Eva just walked into the place and took Haruna nee chan after a fierce fight. She said that she needed her for bait on training aniki"

"But why would she take Haruna?" she wondered. "I would be more logical if she took Nodoka, Konoka or even Ako since they're the ones that have close relationships with the kid. Taking Haruna has no advantage at all"

"But you have to know that aniki looks out for all of you equally Chichi san"

"That's true" Chisame nodded slightly still puzzled on why Eva decided to pick her of all people. "He does make everyone his priorities and getting everyone back home safely is probably one of his highest priorities. But still that vampire's still makes me nervous. It's not unusual that she would do something drastic to make Negi sensei serious, but this time it's way too much. We'd better follow him too"

"Yeah. Who knows, maybe aniki might go berserk like that time when he fought his old man"

"Then we'll come too" came a voice from behind which made the two of them jerk their heads back. To their surprise, Kotaro and the rest of class 3-A were there. "Sup…?"

"WHAA! Y… you guys!?" Chisame yelled. "What the hell are you all doing here!?"

"We're going to follow you of course!" Makie answered bluntly. "Since you always know things before us, we made it a habit of following you wherever you go. (Besides Chamo only tells you everything)"

"Ch…Chisame san?" Nodoka shyly stated. "Is Negi in trouble?"

"Ah… well…… umm… no" Chisame answered. "It's nothing big… really…"

"Yeah it's nothing to worry about" Chamo nodded playing with her act. "Eva san is just going to give him a little extra training today"

But of course Yue could tell that they were lying. Being the head of the Library Exploration Club and a genius of literature and detective works she can spot a lie a mile away. "It looks like she won't spill the beans easily" she sighed in her usual emotionless tone. "I guess we have no choice then. Nodoka, read her mind. Everyone else, hold them still"

"WHAT!?"

"I'm sorry Chisame san" Bookstore bowed apologetically as she quickly brought out her artifact without hesitation. "But if it's for Negi sensei, then I must know"

"Wait wait wait! Hey let's not do anything hasty here!!" she pleaded. _"Because if you do, who knows what other secrets you might know!"_ after they finally persuaded the girl to spill Chisame explained every bit of detail that Chamo said to her: Down from the attack right towards the kidnapping and the secret plan of Evangeline, which seemed to be lacking much in detail.

**(Eva's resort)**

"Haa… haaa…" that was the sound of a certain young boy teacher panting heavily after he had entered through the magic portal of Evangeline's magical resort dome. After he made his entrance, he quickly scanned his surrounding and gathered up his staff and moved on. But he barely even made it two steps when he suddenly came to the gaze of Chachamaru who appeared to be waiting for him near the edge of the bride carrying something that looked like a new pair of mage robes. "Chachamaru… san?"

She bowed respectfully to the boy. "Negi sensei, welcome. My master has been expecting you. Please… change into these before you meet her"

"Wait… Chachamaru…" Negi would've taken the robes and immediately go off to face his master immediately but after he did some thinking, something didn't feel right about this exercise. It was true that Evangeline did many drastic things that would make a man go mad or worried for no reason, but there was just something wrong about everything that has happened till now. "What is Eva planning? Why did she kidnap Haruna?"

"I'm sorry Negi sensei, but I cannot say" the android replied a little worried herself why her master would do such a thing. "She only instructed meto come here and give this to you and to prevent anyone else from passing. Please… step away from the portal" Negi complied with the girl's request and quickly stepped out of the portal area. "I will now place a lock on the portal. With this… no one else may enter or exit the dome until it is removed" the magic that once filled the portal with energy soon faded hinting away that it was no longer in working condition. After Chachamaru was certain of her task and the lock was stable she turned back towards the boy who seemed rather worried about the kidnapped student. "There is no need to worry. I assure you that Kiotome san is fine. She is unharmed"

"Really!?" the boy let out a relieving sigh as his worries lessened. "That's a relief. For a moment there I thought Eva san would've sucked her blood or something"

As they walked through the pavilion together, Chachamaru came to a sudden stop. "Negi sensei…"

"Hmm? What's wrong Chachamaru san?"

"I… I…" she stuttered. "I know that my master's actions may look somewhat drastic just to bring you all the way here, but I believe there is more to this exercise than she is letting to me or to herself"

"What do you mean?"

"I may be speaking out of line by saying this, but I believe that she is not truly conscious on what she is doing" she explained worrying about both Evangeline and Negi. "I do not know what her objectives are but I worry both for your sake and hers. So please… don't hurt her"

"I don't think that's possible" Negi let out a worried smile. "I think she has a bigger chance of hurting me than me hurting her. She's still way more powerful than me"

"That is not true Negi sensei" the android replied holding her face firm. "I may not know much about magic, but from what I can evaluate from your previous battle, you have already surpassed master Evangeline by a wide margin. (Huh?) I do not lie. The gap between your strengths are too wide even for me to calculate. In fact, I believe you may even be able to defeat her without Magia Erabea. Do not forget that you were the one who removed the curse from her"

"Oh that's not true!" Negi waved modestly in denial. "Even during practice, she always beats me to a pulp. I even remember how she dislocated my shoulder six times in a row"

"That is because you did not fight with an intent to kill" she stated bluntly. "When you two fight, I can see that you are holding back nearly fifty percent of your total strength" Negi paused at her giving Chachamaru the hint to continue. "I understand of your chivalry that you do not wish to hurt any of your fellow students or your comrades but if you must release those chains if you are to defeat my master"

"But… I don't think I can do that"

"You will have to" she grabbed the boy's hands and held them together in front of her face. "Negi sensei. If you are to pass this test then you will have to let go. I am certain my master has not held anything back and…… I… I do not wish to see you injured like last time again. So please… don't hold anything back"

Negi seemed rather hesitant to comply with Chachamaru's request. To unleash his full power onto his master… to one of his students no less… was something hard even for him to do. His code of honor will be put to the test and his pride of being an apprentice to the dark mistress flung to nothingness. If he were to unleash his full potential, then perhaps it would already be certain that he would win.

"All right… I understand…" he said finally to which Chachamaru nodded with relief. "I will not hold back. But if that's the case, I cannot guarantee that Eva san will come out unscathed"

"That is all right Negi sensei. I believe she will understand"

"Hoo…" Negi sighed. "It looks like this really will be just another training exercise after" but just when the boy followed through to the pavilion of the resort, another voice slowly began to creep up to his ears.

"**Hmph……"**

"Huh?"

"Is something wrong Negi sensei?" Chachamaru noticed the

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the other side of the resort by the pool area next to the pavilion, Evangeline braces herself for the battle that is to come. She moved Haruna to a pillar at the far end of the area and had a great view of the fight that was soon to occur. There was an odd atmosphere lingering in the air, a feeling of danger, an ominous presence, a red sun that was screaming 'There's gonna be blood!!' and there wasn't even any sign of wind to blow it away.

Evangeline stood strongly on her side of the battlefield and it also seemed like she used an illusion spell to give herself that middle aged vampire queen look. She even brought out the Chacha Mk. I and II as her supporting cast just in case something should go terribly wrong.

"Hey… Eva…" Paru spoke through her chained body. "What you said before: This is for Negi's sake. What did you mean by that?"

The vampress quirked an eyebrow at her and smirked before replying. "Oh… what? You're finally listening to reason now?"

"Well… you've been saying it a lot so I was just curious. Why?"

"Hmph…" Eva huffed and turned away. "Well if you must know… I was worried about something (Huh?) Yesterday… when we were training… I sensed the darkness in his heart vanish"

"The darkness?"

"As you may know already, the best weapon he has in his arsenal is Magia Erabea. But in order to use it effectively, he will need to have a certain amount of dark energy to supply it. If he doesn't have that then the spell will probably just go poof like last time"

"When you say darkness, do you mean like negative feelings?" Paru inquired.

"Yes. Hate, jealousy, anger, etc. Those kinds of feelings can make dark magic almost invincible. The more darkness you have in you, the more powerful you become"

"So you're saying that… Negi needs to have these feelings or else he can't use dark magic and stuff?"

"(Sigh) If you sum it up like that…… yeah"

"Wow Eva chan" Paru grinned. "For a moment there I actually thought you were really kidnapping me on some dangerous experiment to do something horrible to Negi, but in truth you're actually worried about him, aren't you?"

"What the hell is that suppose to mean! And stop calling me Eva chan! We're not even that close!"

"Oh come on Eva chan, you're acting almost like Asuna san" the vampress literally blushed in her adult form as the manga artist spoke those words. "You're acting everything out of blind love. Ahh… such a dedicated love. To go all the way to kidnapping one of his students making it look like criminal act just to make sure he's alright… wow, such a one sided love indeed"

Evangeline was clearly ticked off at yet embarrassed by the girl's words. She had to resist the urge of using mute spell on her to shut her trap permanently. "Oh shut up! I'm just doing this because he's my apprentice! Don't go assuming things on your own!"

"HAHAHAHA! You sound just like Honya chan (Nodoka's other nickname) just now when she was still having a crush on Negi HAHAHAHA. Denying love even when you already know it's in you"

"GRRRR!!" annoyed by the girl's ranting, Eva decided to fight fire with fire. She hovered over to the front of the girl and grinned. "Oh yeah… I could say that same for you" she began. "You were so furious when you heard what I was going to do to boyo. They say that only true anger shows when your love one is in danger. I was actually surprised when you showed your fangs at me"

"Eh? No" Paru tried to laugh it off but Eva kept her grin on her. "I think you got it all wrong. I was just doing what everyone in class would do, you know. I mean come on, it's not like I LIKE him in a way like Yue or Honya chan"

"Hmm? Is that so?" the vampress grinned even wider if that was even humanly possible. "Or are you just denying love? (smirk) Well I guess I can't blame someone like you for falling for him. I mean he has all the traits of a perfect man. He's sweet, brave, powerful and not to mention loaded rich ever since he won the tournament matches in Ostia. (And I think he's dad is filthy rich too) So admit it, you got a crush on that little boya too don't cha?"

"Ahehehehe…" Again Haruna tried to laugh the topic off, but it didn't seem to be working. "I think you're the ones making the assumptions now Eva chan"

"Tch… ignore it as much as you want idiot number 3. But don't forget that I can still kill you and make it look like an accident"

Haruna literally gulped a whole chunk of her saliva and decided that it was in her best health if she didn't tease the vampire anymore than necessary.

"Master!" Negi's voice called out to which Eva and Haruna turned around to look at him.

"N… Negi sensei!" Haruna gasped.

"Ho… it looks like your knight in shining armor has finally arrived to sweep you away" Eva grinned as she hovered down. "Welcome boya. I believe you already know why I summoned you"

"Yes master" he nodded. He had already changed into his new mage cape and seemed rather determine to do something. "But before we go to our training, can I ask for one thing? (Huh?) Please release Haruna san. She has nothing to do with this and if she remains, she may be caught in the cross fire. I do not wish anyone else getting hurt for no reason"

"Ho… what's this? Even knowing that you're gonna get pounded, you still think about others first?"

"It's because it is my duty as a teacher" Negi replied becoming more and more serious with each word he spoke. "My student's safety comes before my own. So if you please. Release her"

"Hmm… no" she answered clearly and without any hesitation. "She's my reassurance that you won't be holding anything back at me. Besides, you got here pretty quick if you think about. You actually made it here about 3 minutes earlier than your usual arrivals. I guess having a hostage must've made you rush all the way here"

"This isn't funny Evangeline!" everyone in the room visibly flinched back by the sound of Negi's voice that moment. He sounded very serious this time and for once he actually spoke his master's name in full which disturbed her. "I thought you promised me that you would never attack the other students ever again! Now drop Haruna down!"

"Fu fu fu… you actually raised your voice at me" Eva ginned even though her body was trembling with fear all over. "I guess bringing a bait here really was the best choice for making you serious. If you want her. Then you're gonna have to fight for her" she grinned evilly like that you would see during Evangeline's earlier conquest when she was infamous in the magic world. "To let things get more interesting, why don't we put a little time limit?" with a flick of her finger, to bottom of the poll where Haruna was tied on began to catch on fire.

"WHA!!!!"

"Haruna!"

"Heheeheehee. So what now Negi?" Eva grinned triumphantly. "From my calculations, it would take about six minutes until the fire reaches her and another four minutes until she's burned to a crisp…"

"Master, stop this! Ple…"

WHAM!

That was the sound of Evangeline's fist aiming for Negi's face but the young teacher was able to see the blow fast enough to block it with his hand. "The time for talk ended a long time ago boya…" she stated coldly in her vampiric tone.

"Master!"

"Your training ends here boya. No more breaks… no more holding back. Today's the day the gloves come off. If you want to save her, then you're gonna have to fight me as if you want to kill me" she began to put more force into her hands and began casting one of her ice spells. "Ice javelin…"

"Keh!" Negi quickly jumped off and lowered his staff. "Deflecto!" immediately an invisible six layered shield appeared around the boy providing him with both magical and physical defense.

"A standard defense for all simple mages" the vampire chuckled. "Do you actually think a basic spell like that can actually stop me? Are you mocking me boya?"

"_This is not good"_ Negi's thoughts were in complete disarray. He really thought for a moment that his serious voice would be enough to get Evangeline to surrender but perhaps he was thinking of another dimension that time. His mind jumped off to one idea to another to find a good solution to end this madness without any bloodshed, but to actually get the vampress to talk is another matter. Her face clearly stated that she was through with words and emotions and reason would only be turned away by the fires of her darkness. _"It doesn't look like talking will be much use here. I guess I have no choice. I will have to rescue Haruna first… then deal with Eva"_ he quickly took a battle stance and analyzed the situation carefully, keeping one eye on his master and another to the area around him.

But then suddenly, Evangeline decided that waiting was not her style. Without even a hint of a warning she activated her own Magia Erabea and charged at the boy with her claws unleashed. Negi was barely able to dodge it as the sharp nails of the vampire ripped through his shield like they were nothing but paper. He was able to conjure out another one in a split second, but it wasn't going to be enough. Evangeline charged again and again and every strike she made came closer and closer to his face. She really was holding no punches at all, and for her to use her most favored magical technique in such a way… made it clear… that this was no longer a joke.

"Byaku Raishou!" Negi tried to counter attack, but his fear of hurting his own student seems to haunt him. He slammed his fist to the ground creating a surge of electricity all over the area. The flash was powerful enough to make Eva stopped on her attacks for a few seconds, giving the boy the time to recuperate. Following with the momentum, Negi unleashed a flurry of attacks using his Chinese Kenpo which he learned from master Ku and Ninjutsu technique to keep up with the vampress's speed.

They both exchanged blows for a short while, and seeing that none of the attacks were getting through, Negi leaped away and countered with one of his spells. "Laculatio fulgoris!" six lightning spears appeared in mid-air and then pierced to the ground between them creating a barrier between both master and apprentice. "Alright… now's my chance!" with time against him, Negi made a dash towards the burning pillar thinking that he would have enough time to escape from Eva's clutches.

He thought for a split second there that he was going to succeed but before he could reach the girl, Evangeline appeared from the darkness of his shadow, grabbing him by the leg. "Ah uh… ahh…" she cooed seductively with her finger waving around. "You didn't think I would make it that easy now would you boya?" she then thrashed Negi to the pool with a powerful force and hovered over him. "You're gonna have to do better than that boyo! Ice javelin!"

"_Shadow teleportation…"_ Negi recognized it as the way Evangeline usually travels around from one place to another in an instance. _"Damn… at this range, I won't have enough time to dodge it. I'll just have to block"_ he did exactly as he thought he would do and deflected the ice spear away with his barrier, but then Evangeline came in with her claws and nearly struck at his face her nails only a millimeter away from his skin. "Gahh!?"

"I told you boya! If you want to save her, then you'll have to defeat me!"

"I…" Negi slowly regained his momentum and returned to his original defensive stance, his staff in front of him, acting as a shield along with his defense barriers to boot. "There's no way… I can't do it… even if she tries to kill me I can't do it…"

"Then if you won't do it, then I'll just have to force it out of you" with a simple gesture of her hand and a slight incantation, Magia Erabea soon formed around the vampire, increasing the dark energies that welled within her. "Ready kiddo? This one might sting a little" a glacier of ice blocks began appearing on the ground Negi was standing on.

"Oh crap!" Negi knew this spell well as he saw it once before during the trip to Kyoto. It was a spell that acted like a bomb that freezes anything and everything within its blast radius. Not only was it a powerful spell, but after the opponent freezes from the explosion, it would take at least thirty seconds even for a powerful mage to break free. That would give the spell caster enough time to prepare for another spell or escape.

"Eternal Glacier!"

Boom!

Ice literally filled the entire room. Half of the resort was frozen solid and even the pool itself became a skating ground in a blink of an eye.

"Negi!!" Haruna screamed in panic. "Negi, are you alright!?" she was so worried about the boy that she couldn't even feel the heat slowly creeping onto her hands.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Even Chachamaru was about to drop herself and leap in to save the boy with guns blazing fire, but before she could take a step into the battle zone, she felt a hand touch her shoulders. She jerked her head around to see who it was, but then she gasped slightly seeing the face of Nagi.

"Shhh…" he hushed the android from speaking his name out loud. "Don't say anything or you might distract them"

"Nagi san… how did you…"

"Oh I just made a little hole in your lock spell. But don't worry, no one else will be coming in here. I hope you don't mind the mess I left over there" he humored before turning to the small battlefield.

"Are you going to help your son Nagi san?" Chachamaru wondered.

"No… I don't think he'll like it if someone else butts in to his battle. Even though I could actually take Evangeline down with a flick of my finger" he crossed his arms together. "Now let's see how boyo will get out of this one"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As the dust of battle settled around and the ice glacier slowly melting, Eva soon realized that her attack spell had failed. Though she had turned half the resort into a winter wonderland, her spell was not strong enough to pierce through Negi's shield. He was able to put the mass force of his barrier below his feet, deflecting the magic towards the side of his body. To say the least Evangeline was impressed. Not many are able to survive such a devastating spell like that much less escape unscathed. "Not bad boya. But you're can't stay on defense all the time. You're gonna have to attack me if… you…" she felt a flash cross the edge of her eye which made her go into a defensive stance. "What the?!" to her surprise, another Negi appeared on the flank, sending out an aerial kick on her shoulder. "A duplicate!? How?"

Surprised by the sudden attack, Eva quickly withdrew to the roof of the pavilion where she could analyze the situation. But what came next caught her completely by surprise. There were four… no… five… no… six, seven Negis standing on the ground each smirking at her as if they expected that sort of reaction from her.

"I see… using that idiot number 5 (Kaede) ninjitsu to create a clone of yourself while camouflaging yourself from the smoke. Not bad… but tactics isn't gonna work on me! You of all people should know that simple clones won't work on me, so it's better if you just come on out" but then suddenly, the real Negi appeared right behind the vampire, catching her off guard. "A sneak attack!?" she deflected the hit, but then immediately Negi got her in a grappling position, making it impossible for her to use the shadow teleportation to move away.

"Now everyone! Go!" immediately the clones rushed off towards the pillar where Haruna was tied to, to rescue her.

Eva expected Negi to use this kind of strategy eventually since it was probably the most basic. To have one distract the enemy while another completes the objective. But she was prepared. "Unit 1, stop them" immediately one of Chachamaru's sister android pulled out a Gatling gun from her back and fired at the clones, wiping them from the face of the earth.

"Ahh!?" Negi's eyes widened in surprise, giving Evangeline the opening she used to kick him in the gut and sending him to the floor with a loud and defining thud sound. "T… master, that isn't fair! I thought this was a one on one duel!"

"It is boya" she answered grinning. "Those two won't interfere with our battle. They'll just make sure that you don't try anything funny. I've given them absolute orders not to let you anywhere near that pillar until you've defeated me and that's probably gonna be a snowball chance in hell"

Negi had to resist the urge of charging right towards her, but with time running really short, he began thinking of another plan to rescue Haruna. "Damn it… why master!? I don't understand why you're doing all this!"

"Tch…" Eva frantically spat at him for even saying such thing. "You think you can even understand what's going on? (Huh?) You think that you understand everything… don't you boya? But in truth you don't understand a single thing about reality. You see the world just by its shape but not by its texture. Just as you look at a person! You try to understand everyone but the truth is this: Understanding other people isn't exactly difficult you… because it is impossible. You cannot truly understand the person next to you. Only can only get a hint or a fragment can be gained, but the whole piece is as impossible as becoming god itself"

"W… what do you mean? I don't understand"

"And that's why boya… you fail to understand me!" she lounged at him, cutting through his new mage robes like it was made out of paper.

"Geh! Eva san please, let's talk about this! If we talk, maybe I can understand you"

"Don't you get it!?" the vampress roared at him. "You cannot possibly understand me because all logics are different for a person! Stop trying to understand me!"

"But if it's pain you're feeling then I completely understand!" but before he could continue any further, Evangeline suddenly came in front of him and held him by the neck. "Gackkk… ugh…"

"Understand me?" she fumed dangerously. "You think a punk like you… can possibly understand the anger, the hatred I'm feeling right now!? You think a kid like you who has no experience in life can possibly understand what I've been through!? Don't make me laugh!" she threw him to the side leaving a painful mark on his throat. "Now come at me… boya"

"I… I can… I can't"

"What's this? Don't tell me you're giving up already" the vampire taunted trying to bait the boy to attack. "I thought you said that you became stronger during these past months? With all the training you've been doing you should at least be able to stand on your own……… or…… are you saying that you're not strong enough on your own"

Click…

A hidden memory seemed to have clicked inside Negi's head at that moment. He soon began to remember how he first met Siegfried in his subconscious and how his powers went mad. The sadness, the hatred, the anger… he began to remember it all. The emotion deep within him swelled like a dam just waiting to break and burst open by the raging tide of darkness. "Yes… that's right" he muttered out finally with his sweat glands working on overtime. "If I am to protect those that I love… I must become stronger. I must do more than this. If I fight her… perhaps… that way… I can understand her better" he clenched his fists together

"_Do you truly have the power to protect everyone?"_ the words of his conscious rang back into his mind. Echoing like a yell into the deep abyss.

"_Do you want the power to change that?"_

"_Do you want the power to finally rid yourself of your weakness!? Answer me clearly!"_

…

…

…

"Yes…" his answer was reluctant at first, but at the same time… it was full of determination. He did not know what was in store for him, but if it was to save his students and his beloved… then he was ready to pay any price.

Immediately, Negi activated his Magia Erabea, releasing an incredibly noxious flare of dark energy from his body. His skin was charcoaled black, his eyes sharp as blades and his face… intimidating. "Are you ready… master?"

**(Outside the resort dome)**

"How the hell do we get this thing to work!?" Ayaka roared as she tried to activate the portal to the entrance of the magical dome. "Do we need to input some kind of password or something!?" she and the rest of the gang were all there after Chamo explained the situation to them. When they got to Eva's tent they knew right away that the girl was probably hiding in her resort to escape from prying eyes.

"Eva probably locked it on the other side" Chisame analyzed. "Usually we just enter the resort by touching the bottle, but it seems like there's some sort of spell that prevents us from going in"

"Then let's break the darn thing!!!" Ayaka soon appeared with a baseball bat in her hand, ready to whack the thing open. She had to be restrained by Makie and Yuuna just to stop her from taking such drastic action.

"Class rep, please control yourself!"

"That's right! You can't solve everything with just brute force!"

"Well I can still try! Let me at it!" she struggled to break free, swinging her bat just inches away from the dome. "Come on let go!"

"Would you calm down for a minute!?" Chisame barked at her. "This is a serious matter here and we need to think if we are to help!" they all went silent and began listening to the girl in charge. "Alright. Firstly, this is a magic dome. If we break it, there's a possibility that we may end up killing everyone inside including Haruna. So we have to find a way to get inside without using the usual method"

"So… how do we do that?" Konoka questioned.

"As for that part. I have to say I don't know. I only pointed out the basic parts. Magic is still kind of new to me"

"Then what the hell was the point!?" Ayaka quickly grabbed her bat again and tried to whack the dome, and this time it took Fuuka and Fumika's assistance to stop her.

"Set chan, is there anything you can do?"

The samurai girl thought for a second but had no idea either. "I'm sorry ojou sama, but magic isn't my specialty either. I've only been learning it from Negi sensei and I haven't even grasped the basics yet"

"Then perhaps I can…" all heads turned to Yue who had just activated her artifact.

"You have a plan Yue san?"

"Well… not really" she replied a little unsure. "From what I know… that dome was created through the use of magic and conjured with only one entryway. But in theory… if I can return the dome into the raw form of magic, perhaps I can reshape it to make a second entrance"

"What do you mean Yue?" Nodoka tilted her head quizzled.

"Well… think of magic as… clay. If you mold it and shape it, it becomes something else entirely. And even if you make a mistake, you can simply crush it and reshape it again and again"

"So basically, you're saying that you can make a second opening for us into the resort?" Chisame noted her nod.

"Yes… but the process may take awhile since this would be the first time"

Chisame was hesitant to call it in, but since there weren't any other options open she sighed to agree. "Alright… I guess this is the only safe way to do it" the others nodded in agreement. "But you must remember… that the timeline here and the timeline in the dome are different. You have to finish the process before one hour or the battle inside would've already finished. Do you understand?"

Yue nodded… "Yes… I am well aware of that"

So much for no pressure…

**(Back inside the resort)**

A gentle breeze whispered through the hallowed stones of the resort, a calm and steady current of the ocean and the rustling of pebbles rubbing together. Negi and Evangeline stood equally on both sides of the frozen pool, their gloves off and their magic unleashed to its near full power. This was it…

This was the moment Eva has been waiting for: The moment that Negi would finally get serious on her and hold nothing back. She waited for this moment for ages and now it was given to her on a silver platter. To others it may look like another battle between two powerful mages, but to her… it felt more like a love ritual or something close to that. The calling of death just inching from your next, the whispers of close calls and the beating of your heart, to what may be called pain to others… was a pleasure to the vampire queen. Unimaginable pleasure.

"So… it looks like you're finally serious on me boya" she snickered. "Good… I was wondering when you would ac…"

WHAM!

With a move that would make the gods themselves stand from their seats with shock in their divine throne above the heavens, Negi struck the first blow to his master, sending the vampire away into the edge of the room in almost an instant. This of course made a surprising impression on everyone, including Chachamaru. Usually it would be either Kotaro or one of the girls who usually throws the first punch to start the fight or the enemy who attacks first, but for Negi to throw in the first blow was something that you wouldn't see every day.

"Whoa…" Haruna was awestruck to say the least. To actually have her prince charming fight like that was something she did not expect to see. Sure she saw Negi fight every now and then, but to actually be fighting to save her… well… let's just say that felt more ecstatic to even realize that she only had about six minutes left to live until the fire catches up to her.

"Geh…" but to their surprise, Eva returned to her previous position almost unscathed. Though much of her body was welled up with much fear, she couldn't feel them through the trembling of excitement that followed suit. She had fought beasts before. Monsters, demons and even dragons ten times larger than her but none of them gave her such crave for battle before. She could barely even contain the hunger and the lust that she was feeling below her belly. Hell, even the killing intent that he was radiating made her feeling all tingly inside. _"Wow… this is even way better than I had thought it would be…"_

"I thought we were through talking…" Negi said in the darkest tone his throat could conjure. "Are you ready now… master?"

The girl licked the blood off her lips and grinned. "Bring it on… boya" with a blink of an eye, the two of them clashed right at the center of the pool, creating a force so powerful that the marbled floors literally broke into pieces never to be seen or heard from again. The building shook with each blow they gave to one another and each time they made contact, a brush of wind would pass through the entire dome, some even cutting through the hallowed stones.

The fight went on for about five or ten minutes without any breaks or a pause to catch their breaths. They were simply lashing out at each other like there was no tomorrow, pulling out all the punches and all the tricks they could think of.

"Sword of conviction!" they called out in unison with their electric blades clashing together.

"Dark abyss!" Eva followed up with her attacks. "Try and beat that boya!"

But Negi smirked and simply cast the same spell that she was. "Dark abyss!" the two black holes consumed one another, turning into pure nothingness in mid air. "Dexter Emittam!" again the two of them exchanged blows, but this time it was through magic rather than feet and fists. Some of the spells they cast were also extremely volatile, exploding in mid-air creating a wide array of fireworks.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Wow… pretty lights" Nagi whistled impressively. "Those are some pretty impressive moves they're pulling out. Makes me wonder how much I've missed"

"Well, not a lot really" Chachamaru answered showing a rare smile on her face. "If you want, I have several recordings in my head that I could share with you. Although I have not seen his entire life, I do understand what he has been through and what drives him to push himself beyond his own limits"

"Really? I'd love to. Thank you"

"It is my pleasure" she hinted a chuckle. "As a parent, I am sure you do not wish to miss a single second of your child. The memories I have are old and………… well… I'm certain that the only way to remedy this, is to make new memories with your son now. The time that you two have been apart has been so long that I believe it would take you a life time to catch up"

"Hehehehehe… yeah I guess you're right" Nagi let out a soft laugh to himself seeing how true it was. He had missed out ten years of his only son's life and the only thing he could know about him was through the letters he received from Nekane and Takahata and even then the information they gave were pretty vague. "Hey… is that Negi's coat?" the man gestured to the tattered robes on Chachamaru's arms.

"Oh this? I believe so. He hasn't had it sewn for awhile now. I'm actually quite surprise that it's still holding together" as she analyzed the mage cape closely, she could see that this little piece of fabric had been through a lot. There were burn marks, cuts, rips on the edges, blood stains and that trademark hole on the right side chest which was caused by Fate during the first few hours on their arrival to the magic world.

The android let out a real smile this time as she touched the cape gently by the cotton, feeling every fiber of this fabric with her robotic hands. "This cape… holds a lot of sensei's presence. It holds many memories alone… and a lot of pain as well…"

"Oh… that reminds me Chachamaru san" Nagi perked up interest. "I've been wondering for awhile. It is true that Negi lifted the spell I put on Eva? (Huh?) I didn't ask at first but now that I think about it, I kind of wonder how she managed to get out"

"Oh that. I believe Negi sensei was the one who conjured the plan for dean Konoemon back in Mahora since he could not return to our world during that time" she slowly began to recollect the memories on how the dean made a deal with her master before releasing her from the spell. "It was a trick he made up on his own" she began. "Negi requested that Hakase dono made a robot body exactly like Master Eva and then she would input a large amount of her energy inside it to make it work while at the same time suppressing her own. During that time however, she was unable to use any of her powers or else the barrier would have realize that it was tricked. When she arrived in the magical world, the barrier no longer had effect on her and the curse is halted"

"I see… so my spell was fooled by such a simple operation?"

"Not really…" the android stated. "A gap had to be open at first so that the barrier would not be able to sense master's energy. It took half of the school's mages to complete the spell and only then could we bring master Eva out. But of course this plan was made by Negi alone"

"Heh… is that so…" Nagi smiled and took a mental note to ask his son about the procedures later. _"He wasn't able to dispel my magic but instead he fooled it by creating a double, what a devious plan boyo. You really have grown. I wonder what you would be like when you pass manhood"_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"HAAAAAA!!!" the two mages once again clashed at the center of the pool. There strength not waning and their perception unmoved. Though the battle may look equal on the eyes of the viewers, Eva could somehow feel like something strange was going on. _"T… this is… this is… good…"_ she huffed out in between her breathing. _"He's still holding some power back but I'm definitely sure he's serious about defeating me. Every time he strikes out at me it becomes stronger and stronger with each blow. Hmm… delicious"_ as the battle continued on with neither side backing down, Eva soon began to slowly return to her old vampiric state. Her fangs were showing, her eyes blood red and her body swirling with dark energy. It almost felt like she was living her younger days three hundred years ago.

"Eva san…" Negi spoke out suddenly which stopped the battle. "This fight has already been decided. You cannot win. My powers are beyond you so it is pointless to go on"

Evangeline nearly froze to those words. She never thought that the boy would actually taunt at her in the middle of a fight and to gloat was even rarer for a modest kid like him. Also… the stare that he was giving her made her feel so excited and chilled that she could barely even control herself. It was like she was actually enjoying the death glare coming from him. "Heh… bold words coming from you boya. But… I an't gonna accept that until you can pin me to the ground!!" she fired off another of her ice attacks, tearing the floor marbles apart. But Negi was fast enough to dodge it and go above her without her noticing.

"I see… so all I have to do is pin you and I win… right?" Negi inquired to which he didn't even bother getting a straight answer from his master.

"That's right!" the vampress declared openly a little freaked out about her apprentice's power. "If you can pin me down for just five seconds, I'll admit defeat! Come at me boya! Show me your strongest spell and who knows… I might just fall for ya!"

"Very well then…" Negi's eyes suddenly flashed as he casted a delayed spell onto Eva. "Binding seal!" instantly, the ground which Eva was standing on beamed with a mystical light and before the girl knew it she was wrapped by a circle of bandages.

"What the!?"

A/N: I copied word for word on the spell but I still don't know what they mean. I'll add that part on a later time when they reveal it.

With the girl unable to move from the spot, Negi had plenty of time to chant one of his deadliest spells. "To sumbolaion diakoneto moi, basilik ouranionon. Epigenetheto aithalocis keraunehos timeis ptheirei…"

"That spell…" Haruna could recognize it well since she saw him use it once before when Negi fought against Jack Rakan in the Nagi Springfield tournament. "No way… sensei's really going all out!"

"Lactum extendentem circulum praesentum. Captem objecta a primum ad decimum…ares constet. Intus se premant spiritus ad pressuram criticalem! Tribus… Duobus… Modo!"

"Is he…" Eva soon caught sight of the rune signs appearing all around her. _"No way… he's actually going to use that technique… on me? Crap! I've got to get out of here! Even if my shield can hold, there's still a slim chance that he might vaporize me to nothingness. But this binding spell… it's the same one that he used that Tertium. Even a mage like me will have a hard time in getting this off"_ she struggled to get it off but even a basic spell like this needs time to unwind.

"Capturam disjungens! Omnes spritus fulgoranoles fortissime emittram!!"

"Damn it! No time!" Eva panicked. "Unit 1, Unit 2, Assist!" immediately the two extra androids came by with their weapons and within a millisecond they released their mistress from the barrier and took her far into the sky. A few moments later, the pool area that she was standing on was struck by a thousand lightning bolts coming from different areas of the dome.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Whoa… that's one wicked spell" Nagi dusted the dirt off himself as he watched the electricity surge all around the place. Luckily for him, Chachamaru was kind enough to provide a protective barrier around them so that they wouldn't get caught up in the blast.

"Ah yes" Chachamaru stated. "That's the spell I believe he mimicked from you Nagi san. The Thousand lightning bolt. He was able to use it against Rakan san during the festival tournament a month ago, and as you can see, he managed to enhance it by a small margin"

"Yeah I can see" the Thousand Master nodded. "He was able to pinpoint the bolts to one direct location and controlling the blast radius so that nothing else around it would get damaged. But there are still a few flaws left. Give him a few more months and he might just be able to get it to perfection. (And that was my favorite spell too)"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Tch… not bad boya" Evan smirked. "To actually use that spell on me was quite bold. I was a little scared for a moment. But that kind of thing won't me! Where are you!? I thought you said that you wanted to understand me!"

"I did… but she came first"

All heads turned to the source of the voice and when the dust finally cleared, Negi reappeared at the top of the pillar where Haruna was held. He was carrying the girl in a bridal style with his lips smiling and his body nearly unscathed. It was a good thing that he was keeping his eyes on Eva and the others because right at that moment, Haruna couldn't help but flush bright red as she saw how gallant and handsome Negi was with the fire burning right behind him. It almost looked like he was a prince that had gone through the deepest corners of hell and back out just to save her from a demon. And for the first time in her life… she actually began to feel some sort of attraction to him. Like a magnet connecting them through a single action. "Negi… sensei…" she spoke out in awe.

He shifted his gaze to her and smiled. "Hey there Haruna san. There's no need to worry, I told you I'd save you" he winked at her causing her face to go even redder than before if that was even humanly possible.

"W… what the!? H… how!?" Eva's mouth gapped open wide like her jaw was dislocated from its mouth. "How did you get over there that fast!? You didn't have time to make a clone! (I thought I killed all of your clones!)"

"Well truthfully, I'm not the real Negi either" he smirked. "He is…" he gestured his chin like a pointing tool. When Eva looked behind her, she saw the real Negi holding a thunder punch which he specially made for her. "Orrryaaaa!!!!"

"Oh sh…"

WHAAAAMMM!!

With that final blow tearing through her dark cloak, Evangeline was struck to the ground with an ear sickening crack sound followed by a full blow of 3000 volts of electricity running through her tiny body. She was pounded on the ground so hard that even the rocks dug six feet below the surface, making a huge hole on the floor. Once Negi was able to get a clear view of his master, he released the Magia Erabea spell from himself and noticed that the dark aura vanishing from Eva's skin as well. "Huff… huff… m… master?" he spoke through gasps.

Eva's eyes winked for a moment and soon opened to greet the boy who just knocked her out of the sky. "N… not bad boya… it looks like… you really have grown after all" a tear seemed to have made its way to the corner of her eye, like a father finally realizing that his child has left its nest to seek its own way in life. "Why…? After all that I did… you still held back at me. Why?"

"That's because I knew that you wouldn't hurt Haruna" Negi boldly stated back. "Before I came here, I had suspicion that something was wrong. Because nothing you did made any sense until now. I then soon began to realize that you wouldn't do such a thing. (pause) I remembered our promise back when you and I first fought in Mahora. You promised me that you would never attack any of my students ever again and start attending my classes and as a mage… you never go back on your word even at the cost of your own life. (Chuckle) I admit that when I first met you… I was kind of scared, maybe even terrified of you. But after I got to know you and that you knew my father… I realized that you're actually a kind and gentle person who hides behind the mask of a villain. You try to get in trouble so that someone out there might come and look for you"

The vampire queen seemed rather surprise to hear such an adult talk coming from a ten year old boy. Right now she would flew off and leave the rest of the words for later, but with the injury she sustained from that last blow and not to mention the after effects still surging through her… it was a little hard to move at the moment. "You… what are you saying? How can you…?"

"Because I was like you too" the boy explained. "Six years ago before my village was destroyed, I thought that if I got into a big enough trouble, my dad would come and get me out of it. Of course… it didn't go as I thought it would be. But in the end… my dad came to rescue me…… just the same as he rescued you… from being alone all the time"

"So… is that the reason why you held back at me. Because we were similar? That's a stupid reason"

"No master…" Negi replied finally in his normal tone. "I didn't hold back at all" he looked down at her and gave out his trademark kind smile. "I gave you everything…"

She gave out a slightly aching laugh as her tears ran through her face. "Tch hehehehe. You liar… just like your old man (cough cough) Even after all that I've done. To go as far as threatening to kill you and kidnap one of your students… you still held back at me… (sob) You idiot… it makes me look pathetic"

"Ahehehehe…"

"Are you laughing at me!? Come over here and I'll suck your blood dry!"

"Come on master. Let's get you up" he gently pulled girl up and carried her back to the surface where Chachamaru and the other two androids awaited.

"Master, sensei. I'm glad both of you are unharmed" Chachamaru let out a somewhat relieving sigh. "I was worried for a moment"

"Hey don't be digging my grave just yet (By the way you could've helped me you know)" the vampress hissed. "It looks like this resort could use a little maintenance for once"

Later, the Negi clone arrived along with Haruna in tow. After it landed on the ground, it immediately poofed and returned to a paper, "Are you alright Haruna san?"

"Y… yeah…" she blushed at the boy teacher twiddling her thumb. "I… I'm alright"

"That's good to hear" Negi then shifted his gaze to Eva and pulled her closer. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I didn't think something like this would happen. Are your wounds ok?"

"Yes, Chachamaru healed them pretty well, but more importantly, what about you sensei? You're bleeding" she gestured to his minor cuts and bleeds that he received during the battle.

"Ahh that's alright. I'm used to these kinds of wounds. (I even lost a limb or two before)" he laughed the pain off. "It'll heal eventually"

Evangeline felt a little guilty since she was the one responsible for those wounds in the first place. "Come over here boya" she ordered to which the boy followed. She checked the wounds on his arms and noticed that many of them were more serious that she had thought it would be. "You really took everything huh? (Huh?) You sandbagged yourself on purpose and didn't even raise your barrier to the maximum level. You think I wouldn't notice?"

"Well… master I didn't want…"

"Even with that you could've easily pinned me down with one of your quick casting spells too. So why on earth did you just take everything without even sufficiently protecting yourself?"

Negi had been hit right on the spot. He knew there were not a lot of things he could hide from the eyes of his master. "Well… I knew that if I put a powerful shield around me… you would've hurt yourself from the impact" he smiled. "I didn't want to fight you and hurting you was probably the last thing on my mind. So I only put my shield to a level that it would only protect me but at the same time not injuring you"

"You idiot!" Eva scolded. "Why in the world do you have to do that!? I told you that when we're fighting, we're equal!"

"That's true… but… then… I wouldn't feel good about it… if I hurt you of all people" his words were so sweet and so gentle that it could just suck a woman's heart away.

At that very moment Eva could no longer hide the tears that she was holding back. The boy knew that he was strong and he knew that he had more than enough power to take her on with one hand tied behind his back. And still… he didn't want to hurt her. "Why… why do you have to be so kind to me?" she asked with tears running down her cheeks.

"That's because Eva san is also someone important to me" Negi stated almost immediately without hesitation. Eva raised her eyes in shock and surprise to the boy's words and thought that she must be hearing things. "If I were to hurt you… then I would rather hurt myself than to even dare injure you"

"Y… you… baka…" Eva tried hard and I mean real hard to hold the tears back, but it was no use. All the pain that she held in her throat was out and there was nothing on earth that could possibly stop them from flowing anymore. She cried on his arm and let the water run freely as she sobbed.

Nagi himself seemed rather proud of his son's actions. Although they were a bit eccentric for a ten year old, he was actually able to bring the vampire queen down to her tears with only words and not brute strength. "If only there were more people like you Negi… then this world would've been a much better place" he leaned to a broken side of the pavilion and watched as the scene continued. He was wondering how everything would end.

When Evangeline was finally able to sober up a bit from her cries, she suddenly noticed her tears mixing with Negi's blood. For some reason, it made her wanting to lick it up to the wound and drink it from its source. And right before she knew it she was doing just that. She traced her tongue up to the boy's masculine arms and sucked deeply like she was madly in love.

"M… master, what are you…?" Negi was caught unprepared by that action and was taken back. He tried to jerk his arm away, but Evangeline seemed to have a tight grip on it. He could feel her fangs tingling deep in his flesh, giving a sensational feeling down his body.

"Shh… it's not me" she said in a whisper. "Don't speak. Your blood…" she seemed rather drunk like she had just taken a whole bottle of rum with no chaser to drive the taste out. "It's… so much… better than… the last time… I had it…" she then grabbed the boy by the face and pushed herself in front of it their faces only inches apart. Her body became hot and her sweat became more and more apparent. "Don't… do that… (Wha?) If you dangle something so delicious… in front of… me… then there's no way I could… possibly… resist…"

"Master!?" Chachamaru was stunned to see her master in such a state. For her to actually look weak and frail almost made her look like a normal girl.

"O… oi…" Haruna raised a curious brow.

"But master you're…" and right then, Evangeline pushed herself into a deep and pleasurable kiss. Negi himself wanted to get out of it, but his maternal instinct lost against the overwhelming pleasure that came afterwards. "Emmmm…" Evangeline pressed her tongue against the boy's lips begging for entry to which he surrendered almost instantly. She sucked and licked and played with his mouth for so long that she felt like she was in paradise. "E… Eva sanmmm…"

"Call me Evangeline…" a moan escaped her as she continued to plunge herself into the boy. "Or else I'll kill you… haaaa…" she then pushed him down to the ground and soon found her mind out of control. She could not control herself any longer and the blood that was running down his cheek looked so tasty that she just wanted to bite him. In fact… she might just do it. "Emm hmm… Negi… you look so… delicious" she showed her fangs to him and prepared to bite on a vein that was visibly clear around his neck. Her hands unconsciously moving down his chest right down to his belt buckle and her body pressing against his abs. (It's a vampire's dream come true)

"You know, that really isn't something that a parent like me would approve on a first date" when Nagi's voice perked in both master and apprentice jerked their heads to the side to see the man there standing with that silly grin up his face.

"N… Nagi/Father?!" the two of them yelled in unison.

"Hey there you two" he waved at them casually. "In case you're wondering: I've been here since you both were fighting already. Great techniques by the way Negi and it seems like you've improved a lot too Eva chan. By the way Eva chan, I don't think that's a proper way to behave with your apprentice. I mean you are close and as master and disciple but don't you think you're taking this a wee bit far?"

"W… wait father, I can explain!"

"And you too boyo" Nagi lectured in his own comical way. "I had really thought that you'd be enough of a gentleman to resist such temptation from seductress like her. Do you really think it's appropriate to be having a relationship with one of your students? Shame on you (Ahh!) And to think that you would actually be tempted to do 'that' especially when they're around?" he gestured to the other side of the ruined battlefield. When they turned to where he was pointing, they were all surprised to see the whole class (including Kotaro) starring at them with their jaws hanging open.

"E… E… Evangeline" Ayaka had a vein throbbing on the top of her hair ready to blow a gasket. "You… you dare. How dare you……? I'm gonna kill you!"

"And to think that I would be framed to be doing something like that" Setsuna had an irritated lump growing at the back of her neck. She was ready to come in and kill the vampire in a moment's notice with her blade.

Knowing that the situation had been quelled and another misunderstanding just around the corner, Evangeline let out a sigh. "Tch… what a rude interruption" she licked her lips clean of the blood stain and pulled the boy back on his feet all the while ignoring the strange vibes she was getting from the rest of the class. "Looks like you're saved today boya. I guess that concludes your final training exams. Hmph……"

"Training exams?" he raised a quizzical brow.

"Yeah… and you passed with flying colors" she added. "I'm proud of ya boya. You actually managed to impress me for once" she pat him on the back loudly. "Now go and take a break and clean yourself off before you go onto doing that quest of yours"

He then quickly remembered what he was supposed to be doing then. They still had a mission to accomplish. "Ah yeah. We still have to go to Mt. Kael to get the Gryphon feather. (To Paru) Haruna san, do you think you can prepare the ship in a few hours? We're heading off somewhere again"

"Ugh… yeah sure…" she replied humbly.

But then Evangeline pulled the boy closer to her to her mouth for a final whisper. "And when you come back. Come and visit me first. We'll continue where we left off then and… I'll make sure you won't get a single wink of sleep either" those words alone were enough to make Satan dance around in a pool of holy water with angels chanting around him. But for Negi… he simply froze at that point as he could somehow tell a bit of what she meant by that. Satisfied with the conclusion, the vampress decided to retreat for the day and head on for a nap. "Well… I'm done for the day. Unit 1, come with me and give me a good massage. Unit 2, fix this place up. Chachamaru, you go with that brat and make sure he doesn't cause any trouble"

"Eh!?"

"Yes… master" the android nodded preparing to lay down her life for the boy.

"Sheesh… I don't know whether I should call you lucky or unlucky boyo" Nagi grumbled disappointingly. "It just seems like you're the kind of guy that attracts the strangest women from all around the world. This makes me wonder how your wife would be like"

With the vampire queen gone and out of ear shot, the students quickly rushed to the side of their teacher to see if he was hurt anywhere. To their surprise, it appeared that Eva healed some of it during their little scene.

**(A few hours later) (Temporal infirmary) (Still inside the dome)**

After the whole incident blew over at the resort, Negi decided to cover the whole story up by pretending that it was all just another one of Eva's ridiculous training regime in hopes of making him get serious. They took the story and I guess after that: alls well that ends well. Though some still had a little suspicion on what the vampire queen was doing kissing and pressing Negi on the ground, they decided to leave that topic… at least until they can find a more suitable time for such a discussion.

And since they could not come out of the resort until the portal gate activates again, they all decided to spend the night at the resort. However… due to the extensive damage caused by the battle that raged here earlier, the rooms had been quite smashed up and were put in a state of repair. It wasn't going to be some time until they would be able to use that place again.

"Oww ow oww ow owww!" Negi flinched in pain at the touch of the alcohol soaked cotton ball that Chachamaru was patting on him. "It hurts Chachamaru san…"

"I know Negi sensei, but please bear with it for now" the android said with a little hint of satisfaction coming from her. "The pain will heal in due time. I would've used some of the medicines we had storage at the basement, but they were destroyed during your fight with master"

"Ah… sorry about that" he turned an apologetic look

"Oh that is not necessary" she comforted him. "I can simply restock the supplies from the military camp. I believe they will have plenty to spare now that the plans are delayed" after she finished applying the alcohol, she moved to the pain ointment and rubbed it around his arm. "Alright, your arms should heal in a day's time. Please remove your shirt"

"My shirt?"

"Yes, I believe that you have sustained some severe wounds on your body as well. Would you like me to help?"

"N… no of course not. It's just that… it's… kind of embarrassing. (pause) I think its better I do it myself Chachamaru san. Thank you"

Chachamaru seemed a little saddened not being able to provide Negi more assistance, but she understood that he didn't want to be a burden to anyone. So she gave him the ointment bottle and let out a slightly happy look. "I must thank you Negi sensei for not harming master. I knew that if there was anyone who could persuade her, it would definitely be you"

"Oh, I didn't do much. In the end we got beat to a pulp ahehehehe"

"But you've shown great improvement sensei" she complimented as she pulled out some bandages from the First Aid Kit. "You were able to use your spells much quicker now and I barely noticed you making an incantation or a recitation before you then. I also believe you only took about 0.43 second to cast the Thousand Bolt"

"Hehe… well Eva san and everyone did help me train, so I guess all this improvement is thanks to them" he rubbed his head modestly as always. "If it weren't for them, I would never have made it to where I am right now"

"I do not believe so…" Chachamaru stated sternly wrapping the boy's arm with just enough bandages to keep the wound from opening again. "You may have many masters Negi sensei, but the real talent here is you. (Eh?) Even without the training given by Rakan or Master Eva, I know that somehow, you would seek power no matter what way it is achieved. Even without their help, you would still be a great mage and a great person"

"Chachamaru san…"

"Hehe…" Negi was surprised… it was actually the first time he actually heard Chachamaru laugh. It sounded so girlish and soft… like that you would get from a real teen. "You shouldn't sell yourself too short sensei. You may have much to learn… but you also have so much to teach to all of us. By the way sensei. Who are you taking on the expedition to Mt. Kael?"

"Oh… well my dad and his old friends are going" he began, "And since Eva san can't come I'll probably bring all my partners with me since I don't want to leave them here. (The last time I left Konoka and Misora here thins were pretty hectic) What about you Chachamaru san? Do you want to come along too? We could certainly use an extra hand"

"Ahmm…" she smiled again. "It would be a pleasure Negi sensei"

"(chuckle) You know what Chachamaru san? (Hmm?) That's the first time I ever heard you laugh and smile like that" Negi let out a wide grin at her making her blush at the comment. "You should really smile some more. You really look cute that way"

"I… I…" steam began to pump through the circuits of the android and it seems like her cooling vent were working on over time. "T… thank you Negi sensei" but as a slow and awkward moment past, Chachamaru suddenly began to feel a little uncomfortable as she remembered the kiss that Evangeline gave to him earlier. It looked so passionate and tasty that just made her jealousy meter go up. But as she thought about that little indecent scene an idea came over her. "Um… Negi sensei, do you mind closing your eyes for a minute? You have a little bump on your head"

"Huh? Oh yeah sure" Negi gently closed his eyes and took off his glasses before facing back to her. He could not see, but he could feel that Chachamaru was putting some antibiotics on his forehead. "I guess I was hurt a lot more than I thought, ne… Chacham…?" he was unable to finish as he felt a pair of lips on him. His eyes widened and he could see Chachamaru's face pressing against his nose.

It was probably the shortest kiss to remember since right after Chachamaru was done, she ran away with her face lit up like a million Christmas lights. "That'll be all, goodbye sensei!" she yelled in an echo along the wall.

All Negi could do then was stare blindly into space as he touched his lips to feel the tenderness of the robot's kiss. Who knew that an android like her could actually be a great kisser?

**(Outside the resort dome)**

When things finally settled at the resort, Nagi decided to be the first to come out so that he wouldn't disturb Negi as he and his students take a nice relaxing nap in that sanctuary for a few hours. But as he came out, he was surprise to be greeted by all of his former comrades in arms. Jack, Eishun, Alberio, Takahata and Ricardo, all of them were looking at him like they were expecting him already.

"Yo, how was your little trip over there?" Jack smirked along with his masculine body flexing around. "Did you bring me a souvenir?"

"You guys?"

"What? You didn't expect to see us or something?" Ricardo laughed.

"So…… did you see it?" Alberio questioned.

"Yeah…… I saw it" the Thousand Master nodded. "He really has become strong. Give him a few more years and who knows? He might even surpass me"

"Heh… kids these days" Eishun chuckled. "They grow up too fast"

"Maybe it's a sign that our generation is coming to a close" Takahata added, puffing another cigarette into his mouth. After a few smokes, he let out a sigh. "So… are you really gonna go through with it?" he asked Nagi.

"Yeah…" was his instant answer. "Now that I've seen how strong he is, I'm certain now that I could leave this time up to him"

"Are you sure kid?" Rakan looked at him with a worried an uncertain face. "I mean… you just met your kid and all. Do you really plan on going on with this? I mean come on… if you stay here, then you could be a family again… right? It's a good life"

"I agree" Takimichi nodded. "You may still stray from this path and live in peace with your son. No one would blame you for choosing to live a happy life with those that you love"

"I second that" Ricardo added. "If you want, I can even make a cover up story to give you guys a clean getaway. I'm a politician after all so I have power in the royal Ostian senate hehe"

"That…is… something… I cannot do" Nagi replied still determined as ever. "For we know… people like us… don't deserve the leisure of a happy life…" a dark aura ensued as they all knew that this was true. With their sins piled up together as high as a mountain, they knew… that true happiness was undeserving of them. "Did you bring the things I asked Eishun?"

"Yes… all of the magic items you requested are in my suitcase" Konoka's father answered worryingly. "Some of them were illegal materials so I had quite a hard time moving them. But… are you sure you want to go through with this? Casting such a spell could very well risk your life…"

"I'm alright with that. Besides… this is probably the only way I can ever atone for what I've done"

"Heh… I guess that's true" Jack Rakan smirked to break the bad mood. "Come on let's get you suited up. We can all go for a drink later!"

"Oh! Now there's something we can all agree on!" Ricardo agreed wholeheartedly, equally loud as the giant man next to him. "Let's make it a reunion of the Ala Rubra! Let's have a bet. The first one to falls gets to pay for the whole house!"

"Ohhh now that's a challenge!"

**(Time skip 2 hour later) (Negi's tent) (11:20 AM) (Six and a half days until invasion)**

After the gang finally returned to the real world from a long needed break, Haruna decided to prep the ship up and do some last minute repairs while the others packed up the necessary supplies for the journey to Mt. Kael. According to what Ricardo and Eishun explained so far, the mountain was a rather dangerous treacherous place for large cargo ships like The Great Paru Sama that passed through and that it would take at least a day just to get to the summit on foot or by flying.

"Hmm hmm… hmm hmm…" Negi was humming a song that he heard back somewhere during his time here in the magic world. Though he could never truly get the lyrics or the beat right, it didn't stop him from thinking about it. "Hmm hmm hmmm…" he was packing some of his clothes at the moment but he stopped when his hands idly found a small box the size of his arm from among his other belongings that he kept ever since the day he came to Mahora. It was a box of memories as he would call it from time to time. Inside it, it held several items that meant a great deal to him. He ruffled through some of the stuff and remembered some of the incidents that he had a few months ago.

But among all the items in there, only two of them meant the most to him. Both of them were photos. The first one was a photo of his father and his comrades a few years before he was born. There was an autograph of all the members of the group with a name saying, Ala Rubra (AKA: The Crimson Wings). If he were to auction that on the internet in the magical world, the bid for it would probably reach to a sum of fifty or seventy million credits. But of course, Negi wasn't much a material kid and so money never really interested him.

The second photo… was another one of his favorites. It was a group picture of the whole class during their little fieldtrip in Tokyo. During that time everyone was there and even Shizune was there to provide support to the boy whenever he needed help. This… was probably perhaps the time when the boy was in his happiest time.

"Hey Negi, you in here?" Kotaro called out as he entered the tent of the hero.

"Oh good afternoon Kotaro kun" Negi replied quickly putting the picture back in the box. "What is it? Are you looking for something?"

"I was looking for you" he answered chuckling. "The others are gathering up at the ship already, they're all waiting for you now"

"Oh I see… thank you. I just need to pack the last of my things that's all. I'll be done in a moment" he ruffled through his things and continued packing what's left of the clothes he got.

"What were you looking at? A picture" Kotaro, being the curious wolf that he was noticed the picture being left on the bed and decided to look at it. "Hey, when did you guys take this?"

"Oh that was during the first day we arrived in Tokyo" Negi answered. "It was taken shortly after we stepped down from the train"

"Oh yeah… now I remember" the wolf boy smirked. "I totally kicked your butt when we first fought. Man you were seriously weak back then. I could even take you even if I didn't transform! Hahahahaha!"

"That's because I didn't know that you were an enemy before!" Negi shouted back annoyed by his friend. "I thought you were just a guard or something and when you attacked I wasn't even familiar with your Eastern magic!"

"Hehehe… I guess I can gloat to everyone that I was the first to actually defeat the great Negi Springfield. My reputation will definitely outmatch yours. I can already see it on the history books: Kotaro Inugami, the first kid ever to defeat Negi Springfield, the son of the Thousand Master"

"This isn't a popularity contest!"

"Hehehe… easy I was just kidding" the boy waved it off with his hands. "Anyway, you should definitely keep this picture. It's a good memory. I definitely wouldn't trade this for anything other than my life"

"Heh…" Negi slung his backpack as he finally finished packing him needed belongings. "Yeah. Definitely" he then placed the picture back in the box and hid it under his bed so that no common thief would be able to find it. "Let's go"

"Yeah!"

As the two of them exited the tent, they immediately made their way to the back side of the old capital of Ostia where it had been turned to a docking port for the army's fleet. There were ships as big as villages, some even accommodating more than a hundred people on board. But even among all the dreadnaughts and destroyers docked in that small port, one single ship stood out the most.

The Great Paru Sama, AKA: The Negimaru club mobile base.

It was the crowning achievement of Haruna Saotome, and it may look like a second hand ship on the outside… but on the inside… it had all the latest gadgets and gizmos that were currently on sale in the magic world. Ever since their names were cleared from the bounty board, Ricardo provided her and Hakase Satomi all the equipments and technology they needed to make that second rated trading boat into the state of the art prototype battleship capable of withstanding even against the deadliest weapons of the Ostian army. But of course the reason why it stood out among the rest was probably because it was the only ship that had a cute goldfish painting on its face.

Negi's students and his father were already there waiting for him on board and the only ones outside were Haruna who was making some last minute adjustment on the ship's defenses along with some Hellas engineers who aided in the repairs of the vessel and Kazumi, who was just taking more photos of the camp as she walked through. When the manga artist noticed the boy approaching she quickly shooed away the soldiers and moved in to welcome him. "Negi sensei" she greeted with a polite bow. "Good afternoon"

"Yo wassup Paru nee san" Kotaro replied as cocky as ever if not more.

"Ah Haruna san good afternoon to you too" Negi bowed. But then he noticed that she had a few bandages on her face which was probably caused by the incident in the dome. "Are those wounds from…?"

"Oh these? Oh it's nothing" she waved it off. "They're just some light bruises and scratches. Nothing compared to you"

"I see… I'm glad. I was worried for a moment there" he sighed with relief. "How's the ship?"

"It's going great! I just need to make a few more adjustments here and there and get Satomi out of the engine block and we can leave right before Hatsuki finishes lunch. Also, since your dad and his pals are coming along to we don't have enough bed rooms so we'll just have to adjust our living style a little bit"

"That's fine"

When the silence came, Haruna couldn't help but blush slightly at her teacher. Ever since that little incident, she's been getting grins from Evangeline and strange beating in her heart. As she met the boy face to face it seemed like those old feelings has begun to resurface once more. "Ugh… Negi sensei… (Yes?) Ummm… I uhh… I want to thank you for rescuing me back then. I guess I owe you one"

"Ah it's nothing" he chuckled innocently. "It's my duty as a teacher to make sure that the students are safe. Besides… everyone in class is special to me. If any of them was hurt then I would be hurt too"

"Negi… sensei…" Paru let out a mad blush form on face as she felt her heart racing like it was jumping and going on a marathon or something. "A… a… a… anyway! I… I I… I made a roster on how we're going to divide the rooms equally!"

"Oh… that's nice, let me see"

"I'd better not be getting the couch again" Kotaro added. "It got cold real quick brrrr…"

But as they discuss about the increase accommodation of the ship, a familiar face appeared from behind. "Oi Negi baka!" it was none other than Anya.

"A… Anya chan?"

"Where do you think you're going to this time!?" she yelled. "And don't even give me that ridiculous 'vacation' excuse cuz that an't gonna work on me twice!"

"Uhh… well actually"

"We're going to Mt. Kael" Kotaro answered for him. "We're gonna be looking for a Gryphon and try to get its feather"

"A Gryphon!?" Anya barked out in surprise. "Are you crazy!? Those things are dangerous! Did you forget that the grandmaster from our magic school also had a hard time fighting one of them alone!? Even with all of those powerful spells he couldn't even beat it!"

"Ah but Anya chan"

"Don't Anya chan me! Didn't you read about those things!? They're like in the top ten most dangerous creatures out there in the southern magic continent! You think you can take one on with your puny body!"

"Yeah that's true, Gryphons are one of the strongest creatures out there. They even equal as dragons" Kotaro agreed. "But come on, we're talking about Negi here. Don't start comparing this guy to those oldies back in school. He can totally kick their butts with eyes blindfolded"

"But…"

"And not to mention that we beat Jack Rakan, AKA: the man who singlehandedly took down 370 ships during the old war 20 years ago. That's probably enough proof that we're no pushovers. Unlike someone I know…"

"Grr!" Anya fumed before lounging herself at the wolf boy. "Who the hell are you calling a pushover!? Come over here and I'll show you a pushover! Raar!!"

"Bring it on shrimpy!" and before Negi knew it, the two of them were already fighting on the ground like two kids in a playground.

"Ahh! Please don't fight you two!" Negi tried to stop them, but he knew that when one of those two gets in a fight they won't stop until one of them is the winner.

"Ara… it looks like Anya will be coming along too" Haruna sweat dropped. "I guess we'll just have to remake the accommodation charts again hehehehe (The living room will be full tonight. Maybe I can transfer one or two of them to the kitchen)"

"Hey Negi…" another voice came by stopping the fight. To their surprise, it was none other than Theodora, the princess of Hellas.

"Theo san?" Negi bowed with a quizzical look. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with Ricardo san and the others"

"I asked for a temporal leave" she answered. "Seeing that you're going on a little trip, I might as well go along with you"

"EH!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" the four of them shouted shocked in their places. "B… but Theo san! I thought that you couldn't leave the army alone and…"

"Hey hey hey!" the princess barked. "You did say that you planned to bring all your partners along right? (Uhh…) And it just so happens that I am one of your partners as well. Now stop being a major who-ha and let's get moving. Besides… I'm just here to make sure that you get back here in five days time. We can't postpone this attack any longer than that and I'm sure that if we send you out there, there's a good chance that it might even take you two or three more weeks just to get back"

"Y… yes ma'am" the princess's reasoning was so effective that Negi couldn't even find a way to counter it. So without any words to fire back, he agreed with a surrendered bow.

"_Oh boy…"_ Haruna sighed. _"First my classmates, then the legendary heroes, and now royalty of the empire (sigh). I somehow get a feeling that my ship is becoming a pleasure cruise for VIPs. If this keeps up, I so have to start charging them rental fees"_


	8. The Knight of The Full Moon

**Chapter 8: The Journey to Mt. Kael. (Part 1: The Knight of The Full Moon)**

**(The Great Paru Sama) (Bridge area) (12:20 PM)**

"Hmm hmmm, hmm hmmm…" Kazumi whistled happily that afternoon as she looked through the beautiful scenery of the magic world through the window of the bridge. Even though the place was made entirely out of floating islands hovering in the sky it still took much of her breath away. She took many commemorative photos from different places and different realms that she could proudly and justly call herself one of the best photographers and journalists of Mahora academy. She and Sayo, Nodoka, Yue, Haruna and Chachamaru stayed up on the bridge area operating all the controls and monitoring all the radio chatters that came through. "Haaa…" she stretched her arms out with a defining yawn. "Man this is so… tiring. I can't believe we've been here for two months now heh"

"Oh, are you tired Asakura san?" Nodoka noticed her yawn.

"Ah… kinda" she returned the gesture. "We've barely had any decent sleep these past few days with all this traveling around and stuff. Not to mention that we're also going to be fighting Fate in six days time"

"With so many things happening at once, it's not a wonder that we're all so tired" Yue explained. "We've only been in the magic world for a short while, but during this short time span we've undoubtedly made a big impression to this place"

"Yeah… especially you Yue" the photographer pointed out. "You became the most popular girl in that magic academy in Ordan and I even remembered that you got plenty of fan mails when they all heard that you were partners with Negi kun"

The magician blushed at the response to that statement. When she still had amnesia during that time she became quite renowned around the country of Ordan as being the first rookie mage to actually defeat a dragon. She won't deny that she was popular, and when she regained her memories, she became the talk of the entire school. "N… nonsense. I don't have any interest in men of this world"

"Hehehehe… that's an obvious response seeing that you already have Negi sensei" the whole gang tensed up in the entire room by the mere mention of the boy's name. They all turned away from each other and starred into objects that required their interest. "Ara… looks like that name is taboo to them hehehehe" seeing that she was bored with nothing left to do, Kazumi decided to tease the girls to get a little stress off her mind. "Come on now you two. It's no big secret that you're all deeply in love with Negi sensei. Everyone in class knows about it"

"Oh w… well… I…" Nodoka stuttered.

"That reminds me Honya chan. Why haven't you made a move to Negi lately?" again the group tensed. "I mean you are in the lead on claiming him for yourself. If you made your move now, you might be able to get his dad's approval and marry him right on the spot!"

"M… marry!" even Chachamaru seemed to shown interest in the topic of the child teacher's marriage.

"Yeah!" Kazumi was truly enjoying this charade. She was enjoying it so much that she could just die from laughing at their facial expression. "I mean come on, I think even Nagi thinks you're cute. I've been wondering why you haven't asked him out on a date yet. I mean you two are definitely seeing each other and during the Ostia festival, you didn't even ask him out once"

"W… well… I uh… ummm… N… Negi sensei seems to be rather busy with everything that's been happening" Nodoka reasoned. "I wouldn't want to bother him with something so selfish of me. B… but just being near him is good enough for me"

"T… that's right Asakura!" Yue nodded in agreement. "We have more important issues to worry about right now! We have a war to win and a world to save from total destruction! We don't have time for cheesy romance! We can wait a little longer then!"

"That's easy for you to say seeing that you're also part of the Negi love list" Kazumi chuckled. "But ok. If you want to put it that way, why don't we create a little example? (pause) Six days later, we are about to attack Fate at his castle fortress" she imagined the two great armies finally battling at the fortress of Asgard. The Ostian army struggling to survive and the Hellas forces preparing for combat. "It's the final battle between good and evil and the clash between the bosses will soon occur" she imagined Negi and Fate in a small room, ready to fight to the last man standing. "Negi is weakened by the fight and no longer has strength" she then imagined Negi falling on one knee struggling to get back up. "But then… when all hope seems lost, the girl of his life comes in and gives him a Hero's kiss rejuvenating his strength to fight on!" she then imagined Negi getting kissed by one of the girls giving him that extra boost. And with his strength returned, he defeated Fate with a single blow. "After the battle ends he will thank the girl who gave him the power to go on and propose to her"

"P… propose!"

"Yup! And after we return to Mahora academy and graduate, the two of them will go on a honeymoon together and after awhile, they'll probably decide which world to live in and then have children of their own and live on happily ever after watching the sunrise and sunset together forever. Ahh… what a happy life"

"D… damn you Kazumi and your imaginative mind" Yue cursed at her.

"Hey hey now, I'm only stating the little truth there is. Besides, who knows? It might come true" she puffed chibili. But while the three of them barrage with that topic, Kazumi suddenly noticed that there was something missing in the fun ingredient of teasing Negi. She looked around and noted the members in cast. Nodoka was there being in her cute self, Yue was there as an embarrassed secondary lover for the love triangle, Sayo was there as a spectator…… "Paru?" she then turned to the one member who wasn't there in the lovy doby topic. Usually by now she would either be teasing both of Negi's secret crushers and pushing them to make the next step but now… she was just standing there… starring blindly into space. "Oi… Paru"

"Huh?" she reacted to the call of her nickname. "Oh yeah?"

"What the matter with you? You look like you were out of the moment"

"Y… yeah" she replied a little embarrassed. "I guess I just something on my mind that's all. Uh… what were we talking about?"

"Are you still upset about what happened yesterday?" Nodoka perked with her head tilted on the side. "Are you still injured somewhere?"

"I guess that kind of experience can be a bit traumatizing even for someone like you Paru" Yue added. "Being kidnapped by Eva and becoming bait for some ridiculous plan just to bring Negi there. How childish"

"Oh… no… it's just…" her face slowly flushed as she thought of the incident yesterday. She remembered how Negi charged against Eva to rescue her. Even though she was never in any real danger, the boy pulled through before the time limit and saved her like a princess from a burning tower. "N… nothing… it's nothing" she returned her gaze back to the monitor screen to avoid looking at the others. But even though her eyes were set on the computer, her mind wandered back in time to the incident yesterday. She remembered how Negi looked so gallant when he saved from that burning pillar. He looked so mature and so handsome like a character from a story book. Heck… she wouldn't be surprised if there were even movies or animes based on his character. Who knows, he might as well have a city named after him after all this blows over. "Negi sensei…" unconsciously… she began to give out a strange glow of herself. Her face was like that of a philosopher and that expression she was giving out just screamed enlightened.

"Whoa…" she heard a breathtaking sound coming from around her. Once she refocused onto the world around her, she noticed that the girls had surrounded her, their eyes locked onto her face. "What's with that expression Paru?"

"I've never seen you look like that before Haruna san" Nodoka said in awe. "You looked so…… wise and charismatic for a moment there"

"Yeah… like a friend of mine from the philosophy department" Yue added also mystified by the girl's new look. "It felt like you were a totally different person"

…

…

…

…

…

"Hmm…" they three of them quickly huddled together, leaving the manga artist alone in the blues. "Hey do you think she could be that Shiori in disguise again?"

"Yeah that's what I was thinking too" Kazumi nodded slightly agreeing. "It's possible that she could've been captured when she was busy repairing the ship"

"Y… you think so?" Nodoka questioned.

"How else can you explain that strange behavior of hers?" Yue took a peek at the girl in question and gave her a suspicious look. "But even though she looks identical, I have to say that her acting skills are really poor this time around"

"Yeah, maybe we should strip her down and have Chachamaru do a DNA sample"

"Hey! I'm the real Haruna! Here I even have my pactio card with me!" she showed them her card which looked legitimate.

"Hmm… it could be a copy card" Kazumi theorized. "Chamo kun did make a lot of copies before we left, so it's possible that she stole it"

"Yeah… possibly" Yue agreed. "Then there's no other choice! Let's strip her down!"

"WHAT?!"

Click…

"Uhoh…" Haruna noticed the switch she just pressed and grew a horrified face. "Ahh! We tripped the emergency side boosters!"

Crash! The ship suddenly tilted sideward, causing the girls to panic in tow. "Waaaa!!!"

"Chachamaru, reset the stabilizers!" Paru ordered to which the android followed by pressing a couple of buttons and pulling a few levers here and there (I hate technical stuff). A few minutes later, the ship returned to its normal position and everyone was back to seats… well… at least some of them.

"W… well that was one way to end a chapter" Paru groaned as she was at the bottom of the barrel with Yue and Nodoka on top of her. But then she noticed there was a call on the speaker. "Huh?"

"Oi Paru, what the hell was that!?" it was Chisame on the line. "I'm trying to take a bath here!"

"Hey! You made me spill my juice!" it was Fuuka and Fumika yelling from another hotline.

"You made me drop my dumplings aru!" Ku Fei yelled.

"Hey are we under attack or something?" Kotaro roared. "I don't hear any explosion out there!"

"Everyone, it looks like breakfast will be postponed for another hour" Makie and Ako added.

"Ah sorry guys" Haruna rubbed the back of her head dumbly. "The stabilizers are a little jumpy since I didn't have time to fix it when we got back to camp so we'll have to make due with the one we have. Everything's all fixed now so no need to worry ahehehe"

But then Negi's voice perked in. "Is everything alright Haruna san?" the girl froze in her words as he spoke through the speaker. "Is everyone alright over there?"

"A… a… ah…" the manga artist did not know why, but the words in her throat seemed to have been clogged by some kind of hairball inside. "Y… yeah… Negi sensei, we're all good here" she smiled passionately through the window. For some reason… just speaking with the boy made her feel all… calm and happy, "We're all good here"

"Alright (click…)"

"Oh I didn't know Negi's up this early" Kazumi wondered.

"He's probably out training out at the outer deck again" Yue explained. "He's either with Nagase or Setsuna or Ku Fei"

"More training?" she whined. "Geeze… just how much stronger is that guy going to get? Anymore training like this then he might as well go to a gym and break all the equipments there"

**(Outer deck)**

Negi stood silently out the ship's deck meditating in his seiza stance that morning with his father's staff on his lap. He was wearing only his pants along with several metallic bracelets on his body chained together with several iron balls which was meant to hamper his movement to at least twenty-five percent. Around him were none other than Kaede, Master Ku, Setsuna and Mana, the four strongest girls on Negi's arsenal list or the Negi-Knights as Chamo came to calling them seeing that they pretty much dedicated their lives in protecting Negi. They too were also meditating in their own stances. Kaede and Ku Fei followed their traditional seiza stance as the child teacher. Setsuna held onto her two swords on her lap and Mana simply closed her eyes for a decent nap. Kotaro, Ayaka, Theodora, Anya and Nagi along with the rest of the members of Ala Rubra stood on the sideline fairly safe away from the training ground drinking some morning tea while they observe.

"Hoo… that's a lot of magical limiters he's using there" Eishun commented. "You sure he'll be ok?"

"Heh, he's probably just trying to see how far he'll go with only 25 percent of his power" Kotaro answered sipping on a soda can. "He calls it training, but for me it kinda looks like he's just showing off"

"But still… using all that many kinda reminds you of a certain someone, don't ya think?" Takimichi chukled.

"Hey I was young ok!" Nagi groaned annoyingly at them. "I didn't know that I couldn't take a dragon on with only 25 percent of my strength!" they all laughed at him.

"Yeah, you got your butt cooked that time" Rakan humored. "Took Al a few days to heal it back to normal again"

"More tea, Nagi dono?" Ayaka offered to which the Thousand Master accepted.

"Yes please"

"Ah!" Anya noted the woman's expression and noticed that she was trying to impress Negi's dad with her lady behavior. _"Damn it! That big breast woman is trying to get into Nagi's good side. I know that look. She's trying to earn some points just for herself. I'll have to counter him some way. But what can I do? The first impression I gave out ruined the whole relationship between us! I kicked his son and called him Poser on our very first meeting in a long while!" she clenched her hands together and balled up a fist. "No… I mustn't give up. To protect Negi from these big breasted girls, I have to win Nagi's favor!" _her eyes raged with fires of determination as she had no intention of letting Ayaka take all the credit. "More cake Nagi san? I made some cookies before we left"

"Oh I love cookies" Nagi took a few pieces and was impressed with the taste. "Hmm… not bad Anya chan. I didn't know you bake"

"I can cook too you know" the little girl added before giving out a glare to the class rep. "I've been with Negi since we went to school so I usually make his lunches"

"Oh that's nice of you Anya chan. Thank you for taking care of him"

"Score…"

"_Grr…… blasted brat trying to steal my thunder!"_ Ayaka fumed. Right before they knew it, a deep and powerful rivalry emerged from the two souls, all bent on winning Nagi's favor to add points for Negi's omai.

Once Negi stood up, it signaled to the others to silence and the four knights of the boy to prepare for battle. They all got into their battle stances and waited for him to make the first move. "Nagase Kaede, Ryumiya Mana, Sakurazaki Setsuna, Ku Fei……" he called out to their names as he picked out their pactio cards. "I call upon your power to aid me!" immediately all four of them morphed into their power forms.

"Are you ready? Negi bozu?" Kaede perked.

"Yes… come at me whenever you're ready" he replied while slowly going into a his kung fu stance.

They waited and waited like an unmoving stone waiting for the next earthquake to move them… and when the sound of tinkling glasses echoed from the viewers, Mana quickly pulled out her 2nd Pactio card (The one which she made with Negi) and pulled out a long barreled revolver to barrage Negi in a hail of magical bullets.

But Negi was too skilled to be hit by projectile weapons. With a simple spell, he created a ten layered barrier and blocked all the bullets without even breaking a sweat. It wasn't long then until Setsuna came unsheathing both her blades and attacked. But Negi simply used his staff to parry each of the blows. Afterwards, Ku Fei and Kaede came to meet the boy hand in hand. All four of them traded attacks with the boy, putting the very top of their skill at the front of the battle.

However… even with the four of them combined, they were unable to strike a single blow onto the boy's body. He blocked all moves, all feints and even detected sudden and surprise attacks from where even professional fighters would least expect. _"Hmm… just as I thought"_ Mana raised an eye of interest as she observed Negi's movements from a distance. _"Negi sensei's speed has clearly dropped compared to what he was able to pull against his father a few days ago. He sacrificed speed but in turn he is able to bring out the best of his skill. His actions are lessened and by doing that he throws away all unnecessary movements. Although it's not really obvious, I can see that it takes less movement to go from one stance to another. He honed his skill to such a level that it nearly reaches perfection. Heh… I guess this as expected for you Negi sensei"_

"_Hmm, so this is why he put those on"_ Kaede smirked proudly to Negi. _"By putting those power limiters on himself, he won't be able to put any kind of defense barrier to protect himself against our blows, but instead he increases his senses. His eyes constantly move from one person to the next and his ears and ki detection change every two seconds. It's almost impossible to keep up with him in terms of speed and he barely uses any of his strength but in turn he makes up for it in skill. Heh… you've sure grown a lot Negi bozu. If this goes on, I might just become your apprentice"_

The training regime went on for another two or so minute with no attacks getting through. Negi held his ground at the place where he sat for the past twenty minutes and did not move an inch from his area. This hindered his dodging capabilities but it increased much of his senses and detection skill. The fight went on and on until Negi finally deflected all their combined blows and pushing them back with a semi-powerful shockwave. "Haaaaa!" with a powerful punch to the floor, Negi sent a surge of electricity at his knights to which they were barely able to block and thus putting the battle to a halt. "Phew… all right that's good everyone. Thank you" he dismissed them with a gesture of his hand and a polite disciple bow. "Phew… that was a close one. Maybe having twenty magic inhibitors was a little too much" a little later, Chamomile arrived with a small towel and a bottle of water in hand… paw… or something…

"Hey aniki, freshen up and wipe that sweat off your head. You don't wanna catch a cold when you're off fighting now would ya?" he advised him

"Ah thank you Chamo kun"

"You are doing well, Negi sensei" Setsuna approached him with her sword sheathed in its scabbard. "You were able to hold us and repel us even with only a quarter of your full power"

"Huh? Oh don't mention it" he replied modestly rubbing his head. "It was nothing, really. I still have a lot to learn and my technique is still far from perfect. I'll still need to improve my magic too and it takes a lot of time to chant just one spell"

"Hey hey now de gozaru" Kaede interrupted. "Don't sell yourself short sensei. We were fighting you without holding any restraint and you were still able to hold us out without taking a hit. (Not to mention that you barely used any magic too)"

"Yeah aru!" master Ku added with a loud cheer. "You even mastered all the kung fu techniques aru! Keep this up and you'll definitely be able to defeat Fate in hand to hand combat aru! Also your daihakkyoku stance was awesome aru!"

"Ah thank you Ku Fei san, Kaede san" Negi bowed.

But while they were rounding the end of their training, a slight sigh escaped the ears of Negi as his old partner Kotaro laid on the floor slightly depressed. "Man…"

This of course did not escape the sight of Theodora. "What's wrong wolf boy? You sound depressed for some reason"

"Nah it's nothing really" he replied grinning. "It's just that… Negi's gotten so much stronger than I have these past few weeks. Even though we promised to grow stronger together, that kid is still light-years ahead of me. I don't know if it's his dedication or just plain talent"

"Oh come on now. Don't be sad. I'm sure you're still stronger than most of his students"

"Ha! I wish!" he groaned sarcastically. "Right now I'm training with Kaede ne-san and Ku Fei just getting to know the basics of kung fu. I still can't believe how he was able to learn it in just two months time. I wonder if I used that special training ball for awhile I might be able to catch up with him"

"Oh that's some rivalry you have there wolf boy" the princess cooed. "You really want to get that strong that badly?"

"Of course!" was his fistful reply. "So when I'm ready, Negi and I will have a duel when we get back to Mahora! So then we can finally prove who the biggest badass in the entire school is! Ha! My name will even go into legends being the only person in the entire world that ever the great Negi Springfield!"

"Heh that's certainly some dream you got there kid" Rakan interrupted them with his hand on a bottle of leftover sa-ke from yesterday's battle. "But if you're gonna beat that kid, then you're gonna need a hell of a lot more training than he ever went… and that isn't even a guarantee that you'll win with brute force alone"

"I agree" Albireo nodded agreeing with his muscular friend. "If you want to defeat your opponent, then I'll be more than happy to give you a few pointers if we have time. Besides, I did want an apprentice"

"Ha! An apprentice? With you?" Jack bellowed holding his stomach full of laughs. "I feel sorry for the poor sap to ever get you as a master! You'll probably teach them all those pansies stuff like making wind blow just to flip girl's skirt up bwahahahahaha!"

Albireo visibly raised a brow of irritation to his comrade. He resisted the urge of pushing the guy off the ship with a strong gush of wind, but he knew that the swordsman would probably just get back up like nothing ever happened. So instead of dealing this with violence, he decided to fight fire with fire. "Well… that's big coming from someone who so recently lost to the apprentice of Evangeline (Geh!?) You certainly have some nerve claiming yourself to be the strongest among the Ala Rubra after your glorious defeat at the tournament teeheeheehee"

"What was that!? Come over here you little squinty eyed prick! I'll teach you to bad mouth me!" and before the gang knew it, Rakan surprisingly brought Al into a noogie and rubbed his fist onto his head like a drill.

"Oh boy… they're at it again" Nagi sighed lazily.

"Geeze… so much for morale support in getting stronger" Kotaro groaned. "I don't think any of them is worth being an apprentice with"

But then suddenly, a thought came to Theo. "Hey. Now that you mentioned it… there's an easier way to get stronger without doing anything" immediately the gang turned their attention to her to hear what brilliant plan she had on making the half breed stronger.

"Eh!? Really Theo ne-san!?" Kotaro said excitingly holding his drool back. "What is it? Tell me tell me!"

"Well… it's only a theory but…" he quickly got to Nagi and his old comrades and whispered her idea to them. Ayaka, who was near them also decided to eves drop in the plan. After a few hushed sounds, their eyes suddenly widened with awe.

"Whoa! That's a brilliant idea princess!" Nagi plopped his hands together amazed. "I never thought of that"

"Hmm yes, it is a quick way to get stronger" Rakan nodded in his wise man face. "How come I never thought of it before?"

"I say… that is quite clever princess. Quite clever indeed" Al stated in his proud look.

"Heheh… that's Theo for you…" Takahata let out a small chuckle.

Ayaka on the other hand simply had a small blush on her face.

"Oi! Tell me already!" Kotaro whined. "What is it!?"

After earning the nods of agreement from her 'consultants' Theodora patted the boy on the head and smirked. "Alright Kotaro. Seeing that we need all the strength we can get, I'll tell you how (Excited smile) But first we're going to need some assistants if we're going to let this work" she then turned to the training ground where Negi and his knights were discussing some simpler topics. "Oh Negi kun, Chamo kun. Can you come over here for a moment?"

The boy and his ermine pet quickly came to the scene. "Yes Theo san? What is it?"

"Well Kotaro here wants to get stronger I was wondering if you could help him" she said in an innocent tone and gave out a strange wink to Chamo who clearly understood what it meant.

"Of course. If it can make us stronger then I would gladly do anything to help"

"All right! Sweet!" Kotaro cheered. "Path to strength here I come! Bring it on! I'll do anything to get stronger! Hell I'd even go through hell's fire if I have to!"

**(5 minutes later)**

"NO! No! Never! You'll have to kill me first!" the once indomitable spirit of determination that came from Kotaro was soon reduced to a child pleading for a second chance. After Theodora said her plan out loud, both Negi and Kotaro visibly flinched in shock. Her plan to make the wolf boy stronger was indeed a quick one and it seemed like it did not require any training at all. But the only thing that stopped the boy from doing it, was because of a little kiss with Negi. In other words… the way to get strength quickly was to make a Pactio with the boy.

"Oh come on Kotaro, I thought you said you were willing to go through Hell's fire to get strength" Theodora grinned evilly at him.

"I'd rather do that than this!" he barked shyly like a little pup. "I'd even go through Evangeline's cruel training for a year than this!"

"Theo san, aren't you taking this a bit too far!?" Negi also seems to disagree on this. Sure he made plenty of contracts before but this was just taking it far too far the normal level. "I can't do this either! This is just too sudden!"

"Oh come on you two, you're acting like little children" Nagi smiled comically at his son. "It's just a little one on one guy kiss. It doesn't mean anything. Take me for example, I did it with these guys and they weren't against it" he gestured to his comrades to which a few of them backed away from the Thousand Master. "Hey! Come on guys!"

"Theo san, please reconsider!"

"Hey hey, didn't you say that would gladly do anything to help?" the princess pointed out his words. "Don't tell me that you're going back on your word Negi kun (Ahh…) Then that settles it. How about you wolf boy?"

"Absolutely not! Kissing are for wussies! I an't gonna do something like this just for power!"

"Oh come on now. Just pretend that Negi's a girl. It's not hard to imagine. Negi does have a feminine look about him"

"WHAT!?" Negi turned to his students. "Is that true!?"

"W… well" Kaede muttered a little embarrassed. "Now that the princess mentioned it… I did thought of you looking a lot like a girl if you made your hair longer de gozaru"

"Hmm yeah…" Setsuna agreed. "If you look at him directly, you'll have a hard time deciphering his gender. I might've even think you were a girl if you had longer hair sensei"

"EH!?"

"Oh I know!" Madoka clasped her hand with a squeal. "I have something that would make this kiss a lot easier for you Kotaro kun. Makie chan, can you bring those clothes from Ostia? Negi kun, please come with us for a minute (Eh?) Alright everyone, no peeking"

"W… wait a minute! Can't we talk about this! Wahhh" before Negi knew what was happening, he was taken to the backroom of the ship and was harassed by his fellow students (again) and forced to wear something that would make even the maidens of the kingdom blush.

"Ladies and gentlemen, allow us to present to you…" Kakizaki Misa introduced in her polite manners while Madoka was finishing with the last touch. "The maiden from a far away kingdom, the most desired lady of the entire magic world, the one whose beauty and charm is unlike any other. The one who sacrificed ones soul to save a thousand (chucking) I give you… Elena Springfield!" the moment the lights flashed in, the whole gang saw Negi… in a very cute princess dress with cute butterfly venial along with a long red wig that matched her… er I mean his outfit.

Usually by now everyone would be laughing at the sight of a boy being dressed in a girl's costume, but the reaction the gang gave… was way different.

Ayaka, the class rep, began bleeding from her nose like a fountain of ketchup. Yue, Haruna, Kazumi and Nodoka wanted to say something too, but the sight of Negi look so… feminine made them all speechless. The others too couldn't help but think that Negi looked very much like a girl in that outfit. Hell…… even the princes from far away kingdoms would even mistake her for a girl and propose to him without a second thought.

"I… I think I'm in heaven" Ayaka muttered while her blood ran down her nose uncontrollably.

"AH! Class rep died from mass bleeding! Quick someone get a doctor!"

"I… I can see the light…"

"Ah!! Class rep! No! Don't look into the light!"

"Whoa… I always knew you had a girl side on you Negi bozu but I never thought you had this much de gozaru" Kaede chuckled a little looking how pretty and beautiful Negi looked in that outfit.

"Kaede san!" Negi shouted irritatingly. "This isn't funny! Kakizaki saaaan! Where are my clothes!?" but then he stopped when his father patted his head. "Uh… father?"

"It's ok boyo" he said cooly. "There's nothing embarrassing about this. (long pause) WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE BEEN BORN A GIRL!!!!!!!? (EHH!?) I always wanted a daughter than a son! I even thought for sure that you were going to be a girl! I even prepared a whole line of dresses just for you!" he began hugging Negi tightly like he wanted to squeeze the fat out of him.

"Nagi, get a hold of yourself!" Eishun rushed off to pull the guy off his son before he chokes him to death.

"F… father! Please, you're embarrassing me!"

"Oi Negi" Rakan came in, "If you ever decide to go on a sex change, I know a perfect place to do so. (They'll even give you a discount if you look pretty)"

"WHA!? Help me!"

"Oh come on Negi" Theodora snickered. "You look very pretty and I think even wolf boy agrees" as they all turned to Kotaro, they noticed that he was actually blushing like a cute puppy dog who found his first love.

"Hey! Don't make assumptions on your own!" Kotaro roared. "I'm still not doing it!"

"Hey hey hey everyone!" Chamo called out to them. "The magic circle is ready so let's get this over with (The time limit is only ten minutes you know)"

"Ah ok" Theo nodded before finally pushing Negi into the magic circle. "Alright, come on now. Just one little smooch on the lips. Come on Kotaro" but then she soon realized that the boy was making a break for it towards his room. "Ahh! He's getting away!"

"You'll never make me do it! Never!" but right before he was able to reach for the inner doors, a bunch of tentacles suddenly plopped up, pulling him back to the outer deck. "H… hey! What the hell is this!?" as he looked back he noticed that it was Haruna who was pulling him back with the octopus tentacles she drew in her artifact. "Ahh!"

"Oh come on Kotaro, it's not that big of a deal, just a little kiss and you'll be a lot tougher than you were before" the artist grinned. "Now stop being so hard headed and get it over with" the gang quickly pushed both Negi and Kotaro into the circle where they met near face to face like a destined meeting. But even though Negi was indeed a boy, Kotaro had to silently admit in his head that he did look quite cute in that dress. He had that feminish charm about him and if he grew his hair a bit longer, he might just mistake him for a girl.

"Alright everyone" Theodora clapped to the students attention. "Let's give them a little privacy. Everyone inside please. We wouldn't want to interrupt this special moment" the other quickly rushed into the ship's deck and began filling the windows with their faces. "Alright you two, take all the time you need. We'll be inside when you two are done" and with one swift maneuver she closed the bulkhead door behind her and peeked through the small window on top.

With the entire outer deck abandoned and with only Chamo around to provide power to the contract circle, the two warriors stood outside, feeling slightly awkward about the situation they were in.

Kotaro really wanted to bust that door open and give the princess a piece of his mind, but he had to admit that she was right. Getting an artifact will indeed make him stronger and with it he will also be in the same level as Kaede and Ku Fei. It was a tempting reward, but was the risk worth it? (Man's pride)

"Um… sorry about this Kotaro kun" Negi spoke up after a minute of silence. He was still in his princess dress twiddling his thumbs together.

"Oh don't be" he replied putting his arms around his head. "I guess I should've seen this coming (sigh) What a pain"

"Say……… Kotaro kun, why is it that you want to get stronger?" the wolf boy only gave him a quizzled look as he replied in his informal tone.

"Huh? Are you dumb? To beat that Fate of course! Why else would I want to get stronger for?"

"You say that, but I… I don't know. Somehow… I can feel there is another reason why you wish to become stronger"

"Fu fu fu… when it comes to reading men's hearts, aniki's the best. (sigh)I only wished he could read girl's hearts as well. He'd be a major girl magnet back in campus when he grows up" Chamo sighed inwardly.

"W… what are you saying!?" Kotaro stammered through his words. "What other reason could there possibly be than to defeat that guy!? Have you been paying attention to what we've been doing for the past two months!?"

"That's true. But is that really the reason? (Huh?) Back when we first came to the magic world, I kept telling myself that the reason why I needed more power was to protect everyone so that we may return to the university. But I was lying to myself. (Eh?) The true reason why I wanted to gain so much power… so much strength was because that I wanted to defeat Fate"

"Then you do…"

"But that isn't what you're after" Negi continued cutting him off. "My goal is to defeat Fate, but yours… yours is entirely different. I don't know why but you seemed to be driven by a greater purpose. Something…… perhaps even greater than mine"

A moment of silence seemed like an eternity for Kotaro. As the words Negi spoke out sunk into his head, he could tell immediately that he was right… hell he was always right… when it comes to other people. He always spoke from his heart and that of course was strong enough to reach the hearts of others. Negi was right, as Kotaro thought he would be. He did have a goal in his life and it was clouded by the shell of the common goal of the whole party. He wanted to defeat Fate, that much was true, but by looking beyond that goal, he figured out. Why? He wanted to defeat Fate… to prove that he was the stronger one. Out of all the opponents that he had fought, Fate was the toughest one of all. Alone, he defeated Negi in a test of magic and martial arts and if Kotaro were to beat him, then it would prove that he has become stronger than Negi.

But of course… for a proud man like Kotaro to actually submit to those feelings willing and openly was not something he would do. So instead… "I don't know what the heck you're talking about (Eh…?) True strength, goals and all that mumbo jumbo" he decided to cover it with another kind of lie. "The only thing I respect here is true strength, and if kissing you is the fastest way to defeat that punk Fate… then I'm all for it!"

"Kotaro kun" Negi sighed calmly. Pleased with his friend's progress in life. Though it was still unclear that he admitted himself, he felt content.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Oi, what the hell is taking them so long?" Theo said irritatingly. "They should've already finished a minute ago!"

"Patience Theo san de gozaru" Kaede waved her off. "This kind of things takes time and I think that Kotaro isn't one who would put away his pride so easily"

"Hm… perhaps putting the boy's lipginity on the line was a bit too much for a brat like that (Even though he managed to even up with Rakan he's still just a 10 year old brat just like Negi)"

"_Lipginity?"_ Chisame groaned. _"What kind of scary butt dictionary have you been reading!?"_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Alright you two, enough with mushy mushy-talkie" Chamomile held up a laugh. "The contract has to be done now or never"

"Right" when both Negi and Kotaro stepped onto the magic circle, the wolf boy still couldn't help but be amazed on how Negi really REALLY resembles a girl.

"Alright, Kotaro, just give Negi a little tap and we'll be done fu fu fu fu…"

"Stop it with your snickering! You're not making this any easier!" Kotaro barked as he turned his face back to Negi. His heart slowly began to race and thumping loudly even on the outside. He mentally prepared him soul and kept repeating the same phrase over and over again in his head. "Just pretend he's a girl. Just pretend he's a girl. Just pretend he's a girl" but when their lips slowly came together, he jerked away a little bit. "Ahh!"

"What's wrong Kotaro?"

"Hey!" Chamo warned. "The magic circle is fading yo! If you don't do this now then you'll have to wait tomorrow for me to make another one!"

"What!?" Kotaro soon went desperate and quickly grab Negi by his cheeks. "J… just close your eyes for a second!" and with a single motion, he forced his own lips upon Negi and made one big hell of a kiss.

Smooch…

…

…

…

…

A wide array of lights flickered the whole deck, blinding everyone with its radiant beauty. With the flare of power shot up into the sky, even the mighty gods in heaven would be able to witness its beauty without any help at all.

The contract was complete…

"Pactio!!!!" Chamo cheered in congratulation to himself and Negi. "Alright Kotaro, you can stop now" he gestured for the boy to stop in which he complied right away.

Kotaro thought for a moment and opened his eyes to Negi who still had a flushed out look on his face. "Hmm… that wasn't so bad" the wolf boy scoffed blushing. "I thought it'd be a lot nastier or something" he pushed himself away and let out a relieving sigh. But before he could recollect himself, Haruna and the entire gang suddenly rushed up to him with a gigantic hug.

"Great work wolf boy!" the manga artist yelled in congrats. "So tell me all about it. How did it feel like? Was it sweet like lemon or was it sour like sour candy"

"What was the texture?" Kazumi added putting a microphone onto the boy's face. "Was it soft and tender or was it strong and aggressive?" to say the least, Kotaro had no idea what they were all asking. The questions they were inquiring were probably not meant for a boy his age and to answer them would require a long and deep search within his own heart.

""Oi oi…" Chisame groaned at them. "Can we all focus on the important part around here? (to Chamo) So what do you have for us furry?"

"Right!" the ermine leaped towards Kotaro to hand him his card. "Here you go kiddo. Looks pretty neat if you ask me"

"Wow… doesn't Kotaro look neat in this picture?" Makie chuckled girlishly.

"Hmm you're right, it shows a bit of his mature side" Kaede nodded.

"Well what are you waiting for? Hurry up! Use it already!" Paru demanded excitingly.

Kotaro took the card and looked at its details intently with his eyes. His picture was there striking a pose and it looked like he was clad in a full medieval battle armor, like one of those you would see from the Ardane Knights. His name imprinted in a Latin form 'Cotahro' and his blood and birth date written on all corners. "My very own… pactio card" he muttered out silently.

"Congratulations Kotaro kun" Negi smiled at him earning him another blush from the wolf boy.

"S… shut up! And stop wearing that dress already, it's freaking me out!" he barked back looking away. "Alright everyone stand back. I want to see what this baby's got. (deep breaths) Adeat………" in a blink of a flash, Kotaro was soon put in full black knight armor with spiked shoulder pads and elbow. His helmet was shaped like that of a wolf and his gauntlets were shaped into metallic claws that can pound and cut through any object like butter. "Whoa… so how do I look?"

"Hoo…" Rakan smirked. "Your pactio seems to be like a balanced one"

"Focusing on both defensive and offensive traits as well as magical abilities, I'd say that artifact suits you" Takahata motioned.

"Hey hey aniki!" Chamo perked up. "This is great! We can finally add him to one of your knights and he'll be like the tanker of the battle. He'll be like our front vanguard to take all the pounding while you and the rest can dish out the enemy!"

"Umm… I don't think giving them names would make much of a difference Chamo kun" Negi gave out a fake laugh.

"Hey… now that you mentioned names, don't you guys think that they look somewhat familiar?" Haruna noted.

Kazumi slowly analyzed and quickly know who Kotaro and Negi resembled. "Yeah, they kind of look like Konoka and Setsuna in boy style. If you put them together, it kind of look like Kotaro's the knight in shining armor and Negi's the princess"

"Like one of those stories where the black knight kidnaps the princess and has his way with her"

"Wha!?" Negi quickly began frightened by the girl's visions and they all began imagining Kotaro in a fairytale story along with Negi. "Hey! What are you guys thinking!? Stop that!"

"Oh come on boyo. Let the girls have their fun" his father laughed. "You have to admit that you look really cute in that dress. Maybe I should take a few and sell them on Magic World O-bay. I bet they'll make millions"

"Father!" they all laughed.

With the pactio complete and the grounds secured, Negi and his warriors decided to celebrate with a big round of breakfast, but before they could head back into the ship to get some of Hatsuki's food, Nodoka spotted something appearing from the distance. "H… hey what's that?" everyone turned their heads towards the far side of the ship and noticed a large piece of land floating in the air. A long and large range of mountains littered the area, making hills and caves that gradually blended in with the ground. But the mountains and lush forest were not the traits that grabbed their attention, but what lay before it.

"It looks like a……… graveyard…" Yue muttered.

"Correction: A scrap yard" Theodora corrected.

Hundreds upon hundreds of derelict airships littered the ground piling one another like they were thrown from the sky and hurled into the ground like piece of trash that nobody wanted anymore. Some were cut to pieces and many of them broke into halves like they sliced by some kind of sword. For a glimpse of a second it may look like Jack Rakan's handy work during the war twenty years ago, but after looking closer to the damage, they could tell that something even fiercer was responsible for this carnage.

"What is this place Theo san?" Negi inquired.

The princess paused for a moment to collect herself before replying. "This Negi… is Mt. Kael…… also… the lair of the Gryphon"


	9. The Search for The Winged Beast

**Chapter 9: The Journey to Mt. Kael (Part 2: The Search for the Winged Beast)**

**(Somewhere in the sky near the floating island of Mt. Kael)**

The island of Mt. Kael, a treacherous land that harboring traders and air fairing pirates recognize as the Air-Side scrap yard of the southern reaches. It was nicknamed that for the many airships that had been destroyed due to its harsh conditions. With its small narrow passage and the threat of a Gryphon attacking, the island had been forgotten as an early trade route and was left untouched even by the creatures that once inhabited its lush green forests.

But nearby, The Great Paru Sama hovered just on the outskirts of the island hiding behind several rock particles that broke apart from the mainland. In there… Negi and his group were discussing their plan on how to enter the mountain and get themselves a Gryphon's feather.

**(The Great Paru Sama) (Briefing room)**

"Alright everyone settle down" Ayaka ordered to which the students quickly complied by taking their seats. The whole of Ala Rubra and Ala Alba were in the room along with Princess Theodora to brief on their latest mission. "Negi sensei, you may take the stage now"

"Thank you Ayaka san" the boy nodded before turning towards the hologram projector that Kazumi used with her pactio card. "Well… how does it look Kazumi san?"

"Hmmm… not good" the photographer replied sounding a bit negative. "The mountain range is huge so I had a hard time getting all around the nooks and corners. The clouds on the higher ground also limits my visibility so I can't really tell what's up there. All I can give are three rough spots where the Gryphon might be nesting" she quickly pinpointed several areas on the hologram which seemed to distance from one another. "The mountain cave system area here which seems to go all the way into the mountains itself, a wide empty ground at the center of the mountain range, and a ridge near the waterfall"

"How do you know that these are lair areas?" Ako asked to which Yue answered for her.

"It's basic animal instinct really" she explained. "It's common knowledge that a mother or father of a certain species will make their nests in areas where they can easily access food and water. Not only that, but they will also find themselves places where their children would not be harmed. As far as I can tell those three areas are a good spots to raise younglings since it's near a source of water"

"Ohh… I see…"

"But we can't get too close to these areas" Kazumi added. "The passage is too small for the ship to go through so we'll have to drop on the clearings here, here and here and make our way on foot. Also… the cave system that I told you about seems to have two entrances. Either of them could lead to another area"

"Well we can't spend three days checking these locations one by one" Theo pointed out their time limit. "We'll be able to cover more ground if we split into teams and search the areas separately. We'll be able to find that Gryphon by the end of the day"

"I agree" Negi looked at his comrades and quickly began analyzing their skills. "But we only need to go in small groups. Bringing a large pack altogether might attract attention"

"Great!" Chamo yelped. "Aniki will bring his knights along with him. Aniki's old man can take his group and search another section while the other two teams go through the caves (Here I even made a list on who goes in which group and who's qualified as teams)"

"He talks like he's the one calling the shots around here" Chisame groaned. "And not to mention treating us like extras in the cast or something"

"Don't worry, I made you all equals" the ermine pulled out a rolled paper. "Look, I even made squads out of all of you. You guys can be the reserves and onee san can be a decoy when we're in battle since your artifact is pretty useless during a fi… GYAA!" he was trampled onto the floor like a roach being smashed by twelve big elephants.

"Well I guess Chamo is right though" Nagi nodded. "If we are to find the Gryphon, we're gonna have to split up. I'll take my group and go to the empty ground area and search there"

"Alright father. I guess I'll take the mountain top" Negi pointed to the location where he will go. "Two groups will go through the cave and meet up at the center here. Safety in numbers. Say, Konoe san" Negi called in one of his father's teammates. "You've had a Gryphon feather before right? Do you know where the nest might be?"

Konoka's father rubbed his chin thinking for a moment before replying. "Well. Gryphons tend to migrate every five or six years so that their younglings can learn to strive on their own. During the war 20 years ago, one of their large flocks was caught in a bitter battle over the skies near the border of the Hellas Empire. Because of that battle their species had been very cautious of every other beings, except their own. The last I've heard about a Gryphon was that several patrol ships and merchants witnessed it near the boundaries of Mt. Kael"

"And Set-chan's home is somewhere in the area too right?" Konoka perked up a question.

"Maybe…" Kazumi answered, "…but I haven't finished scanning the top part of the mountain. It could take awhile with all the clouds and everything"

"I wish I could help" Setsuna said dejected. "But I can barely remember how my home looks like or where it might be. I only remember being inside the village but never outside"

"Then we'll split into five teams then" Negi concluded with his hand raised. "Father will take the center of the mountain along with the Ala Rubra. I'll go to the top of the mountain with Kaede san, Kotaro, Chamo and Chachamaru san"

"Wait a minute sensei" Yue raised her hand. "Why not take a bigger group with you? Since we don't truly know how powerful the beast might be, you might need some more firepower"

"Hey, we're talking about the tip of the mountain here onee san" Kotaro smirked. "With the atmosphere up there, it'll be like trying to survive with only a half chunk of air with each breath. The air up there will be really thin and breathing might be a bother"

"So why do you get to tag along?"

"I was born in the mountains. Breathing thinly is like a hobby for me" he gloated. "Sometimes you even have to hold your breath up to five minutes before another wind passes by. If you're not properly trained, you could just die in your sleeps"

"I also had practice when I was training in Mt. Fuji" Kaede added crossing her arm. "I learned to hold my breath underwater for half an hour de gozaru"

"And I'm a robot" Chachamaru stated finally. "I do not require air so I can survive for as long as I want in the low atmosphere area"

"And Gryphons don't really need much air to survive" Eishun added. "They simply come down to breathable space once in awhile to gather oxygen then go back up again"

"So you see?" Kotaro grinned, "Unlike you air polluters, we can survive even with just half a gallon of air"

"_You're really starting to tick me off dog breath…" _Yue had to resist the urge to use her magic to blast the boy out of the ship and into the abyss down below at that moment but Nodoka could feel the flare coming out of her body.

"There's really no need to worry Yue san" Negi continued. "I doubt there will be little danger in that mountain. Besides, if I ever need help I can easily call you through our contract Pactio cards" he proved out a logical point and moved on with the briefing. "Anyway……Chisame san, you'll go with Misora san and Zazie san the third team to the first entrance of the cave" Chisame nodded as if prepared for this.

"AH!?" Misora yelped in shock as her name rung into the battlefield. "That's mean sensei. Why do I have to go of all people?"

"That's because you're a trained magician already" Cocone, the small master of the nun-wannabe answered for him. "Out of everyone here, you have the most experience with magic. So with that you can easily defend yourself properly, right Negi?"

"Well… I was actually gonna say that her light based magic would be useful in a dark cave, but I guess that works too" the boy rub the back of his head chuckling which made the Misora face fault. "Anyway, the fourth team will be led by…"

"_Ahh… Negi sensei"_ Ayaka thought dreamily. _"To be able to see you command with such grace, I must be blessed by the gods themselves. Ah such a gallant poise, such a deep and friendly voice. I would gladly go through hell and back again to earn your father's trust. I swear that I will not fail you"_

"Akira san" Ayaka face faulted while the rest of the group turned to the swimming ace of the class.

"Ergghhh? Me?" she pointed to herself with a semi-shock expression plastered on her face.

"Yes, I would like you to take Madoka san and Yuuna san there and check out that area. If Kazumi's readings are correct, you will meet with Chisame right in between the middle intersection. If you don't find any trace of a Gryphon, then you'll join up with them and continue the search elsewhere. Are you alright with that?"

"Uhh… well… since you asked, I guess it won't hurt in trying" Akira rubbed her head a little uncertain about the decision.

"Good. Ayaka san (Huh?) I know I've asked a lot from you already, but I need you to lead group five"

"Ahh! Negi sensei, please don't apologize! Ayaka quickly rushed towards him and grabbed the boy's hands with her face beaming with delight. "It is my pleasure and duty to be able to be of some use you. Please, what do you desire of me to do? I will do absolutely anything"

"_Strip, strip, strip, strip…"_ Rakan cheered in his head like he was trying to send some sort of telepathic wave length to Negi. _"Come on kid, do it for me! Show some hormones"_

"You're so transparent, Jack" Nagi muttered with a sweat drop.

"Right. Group five will be on search and support role" Negi briefed. "While we are checking on these locations, the rest of you will be here if anything should happen"

"In the mean time, I'll continue my search on the Crow Demon village" Kazumi finished up. "It shouldn't take too long, so as long as we keep a close contact with our pactio cards, we should be able to keep in touch with one another"

"Oh that's reminds me Negi kun" Eishun perked in. "Do you mind lending us one of your students? We don't exactly have direct communication with all of you so I thought we could use one of your students as a relay for our messages"

"Ah of course Eishun san. Setsuna san and Ku Fei san can go with you"

"Eh?" Setsuna made a dumbfounded face. "A… are you sure Negi sensei? Perhaps I should remain on the ship in case something should happen"

"That won't be necessary Setsuna san. Ayaka san and Haruna san can handle the things here. Is… there something wrong?"

"Uh… no, I was just giving a little comment" she blushed shyly.

"Alright then. The rest of you girls will stay here and keep a watch on the ship. (Hai!) Alright then, everyone…… let's go find us a Gryphon!"

"Yosh!"

**(Somewhere far) (Fate's Flagship) (The Jormungande)**

But unknown to the gang was that a fleet of Fate's forces were watching closely behind them keeping out of sight from their long range scanners. Among the crew other than the legion of golems were Shirabe, Homura, Koyomi and Tamaki who were in charge of this mission.

"It appears they are on the move again" Shirabe stated to her teammates. "They are heading southward towards the mountain range. Fate sama was right indeed, Negi and his students are looking for the Crow Demon village"

"As expected of you Shirabe" Koyomi, the cat girl nodded slightly impressed. "With your detection skills, you really can spot our enemies miles away"

"I deserve no praise. Master Fate had given me five years to perfect this technique. It is the least I could do"

"Even the Thousand Master wouldn't be able to detect us from all the way out here. Let's meet up with Homura and plan our next stage of attack. If we can take them out then this war is a sure win-win for us. And if we fail… well… we still got a little ace in the hole card to play"

"Are you sure that she can be trusted?" the violinist asked unsure.

"To be honest, I don't know either. But if Master Fate says that 'she' can be useful, then I'll trust his words"

"An excellent deduction"

**(Twenty minutes later) (Negi's team drop point) (09:45 AM) (6 days until invasion)**

With only the time limit of five days left in their clock (one day to get back to Ostia), Negi wasted no time in starting their mission. After his group assembled in the loading docks they loaded up on supplies and provisions just long enough for three days time.

"Is everyone ready?" the child teacher waved up to which his teammates nodded.

"Do you even need to ask?" Kotaro stretched out his arms. "I can't wait to fight a Gryphon. I wonder if they're as strong as they say it was. We defeated dragons before and I hear that they're at least three times tougher than regular magical dragons"

"Don't be eager to fight de gozaru" Kaede lectured. "You might get more than you can chew"

"Negi sensei" Chachamaru called in. "The weather will be very cold once we reach the upper slopes of the mountain, please take these" she handed him a bright red scarf and a brown thick leather jacket which seemed to have been recently made.

"Oh, thank you Chachamaru san" the boy gladly accepted the gift and packed it in his backpack.

"I'll have the ship do some rounds around the island" Haruna stated. "If we see anything that looks like a village, we'll contact you right away sensei"

"Thanks Haruna san" Negi nodded before turning around to his team.

But before they could leave, Hatsuki came by. "Sensei, I prepared some lunch for you"

"Oh thank you Hatsuki san. I'll be sure to eat it" and soon later the other students came by to say their farewells to the boy.

But while the others were busy with the child teacher, Natsumi slowly crept her way towards Kotaro who was still busy packing up. "Ummm… Kotaro kun"

"Huh? Oh Natsumi chan. What is it?"

"I uh… I just umm" she blushed at him holding a plastic bag behind her. "I just wanted to give you this" it didn't really take a genius to tell that it was a sandwich. "Since you'll be going for awhile I thought that you might get hungry so I made a little something for your trip"

"Hey sweet! A little snack to keep me full!" Kotaro perked up. "Thanks sis. Hey when we get back home, you should start cooking more. Teeheee"

"Umm… hey…… do be careful… alright?"

"Hey come on now, I beat Jack Rakan the man who could take down a hundred ships, remember? Being careful isn't in my dictionary hehehe. Besides, if I become too hesitant, I won't be able to catch up to Negi"

"But I…" Natsumi looked a bit disappointed at his reply but understood why the guy was so hard headed.

"Hey Kotaro kun" Negi called out, cutting the girl off. "Come on, we're leaving"

"Alright!" the wolf quickly picked his knapsack and turned to his 'pretend' sister once more to say a little farewell. "Hey Natsumi san. When this is all over, why don't you and I go buy that shoe you wanted in Ostia?" Natsumi's face quickly brightened up and turned with a surprise look.

"Wha, what… wha!?"

"Heh now there's the nee san I remember hehehe" Kotaro stuck out his tongue playfully. "Always shy hehehe. See ya later sis! Make me another sandwich when we get back ok!" and with that last wave, Negi and his team departed to the base of the mountain to make their way to the top.

After the ship departed to drop the other teams to their respected drop zones, Negi wasted no time in climbing the mountain side with his team. "Alright everyone, let's move!"

**(Back inside the ship) (10 minutes later) (Nagi's team drop point)**

"Ok everyone, we're here" Haruna announced through the ship's speaker as she hovered the ship next to the small clearing right beneath the cargo hold. "The area below might be a bit rocky so expect a bumpy drop. Don't forget to bring your stuff before going out"

"Alright, looks like this is our stop" Nagi yawned outlying his arms with a backpack in tow. "(sigh) And I thought I saw the last of mother nature. To think that I would be going back to living the harsh life all over again (groan) what a pain…"

Takahata laughed. "Well just think that the faster we do this the faster we can get back to living the grand life of an old man. You girls stay safe you hear? And call Negi if you're ever in trouble"

"Hai Takahata sensei" the girls replied in unison like the students that they were.

"_To think that I would be going with the Ala Rubra like this…" _Setsuna thought worryingly. Even though she respected the members of the great heroes, she couldn't help but feel slightly awkward to be accompanying Nagi on this mission. A few days ago she had already declared him an enemy because of what he did to his own son, but now that they're allies, it was hard just trying to get close to the old man. _"Man… I already made a terrible impression by hitting him on the face with my sword hilt. I wonder if he still remembers it"_

"Setsuna san, are you sure you'll be alright?" Konoka came by cutting the girl off her thoughts. "You didn't forget anything now, did you? Did you pack enough food, clothes?"

"Ojou sama, please don't worry" Setsuna sweat dropped. "I can protect myself against any opponent. Besides… I won't be going alone. I have the powerful Ala Rubra with me and not to mention Ku Fei dono too. There will be little to get in our way"

"That's right aru!" Ku Fei saluted proudly. "You can count on me to protect everyone aru! Even if that Byfon appears, I'll take it down with two punches!"

"Uh… it's called Gryphon" Setsuna grumbled before Hatsuki came by to give her a bento box. "Hmm? Oh is this for me?"

"Since you'll all be going to an open field, I thought that I'd make you a few sandwich" the chef smiled at them warmly. "I wanted to give you a picnic basket instead, but this was all I could find that came close to it"

"Waa! Meat buns aru!" Ku Fei squealed with delight. "Going off on this journey was so worthwhile! (chomp chewing) Emm hmm… tasty"

"Ku Fei dono!" Setsuna grabbed the meat bun away from her and put it back in the bento box. "We're not even out yet. Please refrain yourself!"

"Ahh! But I want my dumplings aru! Setsuna you meat bun stealer!"

"Oi oi, come on girls we have to move fast if we want to make it there by nightfall" Albireo gestured.

"Don't stress yourself too much ok Set chan" Konoka muttered worryingly. "Don't catch a cold either. (I hear the magic world flu can be really bad) And contact me regularly too. I'll really be worried if I don't hear from you. Don't forget to eat when you're hungry or else you'll be skinny just like father"

"Eh? Me? Skinny?" Eishun questioned to which the others quite solemnly agreed.

"I'll be fine ojou sama. If we don't find the Gryphon in that area, we'll join up with Negi sensei at the base of the mountain" after their goodbyes said, Nagi's team stood by the edge of the ship to wave off.

"Take care Set chan! Father, try not to smoke too much either! Nagi san, please be safe! Colonel san, keep your eyes open on the road when you walk or you'll fall!"

"Bye guys" Rakan gave out a thumbs up to them. "I'll be here to take care of things so you don't need to worry about a thing"

Bonk!

"Like hell I'd leave you with my daughter" Eishun quickly grabbed the swordsman by his collar and drag him all to the cargo doors.

Al let out a laugh. "Heh… same old Jack"

"And same old Eishun" Nagi finished before jumping off the ledge.

**(Back with Negi's team)**

"Phew, what a view" Kotaro grinned as he walked up the mountain slopes through the magical floors that Negi made himself. After they were dropped on the ground, Negi quickly began walking up the mountain pass without any time wasted so that they may finish this mission before the invasion of Asgard Fortress begins. "Hey Negi (Hmm?) If you knew about this spell, why couldn't we just move straight up into the mountain top instead of starting at the bottom?"

"Using magic from that height elevation could be dangerous" he answered not once slowing his pace. "Magic usually concentrates on the ground and there's a good chance that the magic floor spell could disappear the moment I cast it. The wind around the mountain pass is also too strong for me to fly. So we'll have to keep walking until we find a suitable place to cast a teleportation spell so we can make it up the top in a few hours time"

"So technically, we just need to find a place big enough to cast a spell right?" the wolf boy followed suit with his claws.

"That's the gist of it" Chamo chuckled. "Besides, it'll take us at least a month just to climb up this slope so making a teleportation circle is the fastest way in and the fastest way out of the lair"

"Hey Negi bozu" Kaede called pointing towards the mountain range. "How about that spot over there?" she was pointing at a small open land with small sparse area of grass flowing around, bending against the wind.

"Chachamaru…" Negi signaled the android in which she complied.

"Understood. Scanning the perimeters" a number of computerized sounds echoed from her head filling her eyes with detailed information and calculation of the cliff area. After awhile she turned back to Negi. "I'm sorry sensei, but that area is still too small for a full teleportation circle"

"We don't need a full circle Chachamaru san, just a quarter of it" Negi explained in which the android quickly redid her calculations. "And don't worry about the magic supply either. I'll be using my own"

"No…" she repeated after another brief scanning. "The area is still too small. The diameters are only about 27 meters wide. We will need at least 34-36 meters diameter to make the spell work"

"Then I guess we'll just have to keep on looking de gozaru" Kaede stated. "Why don't we take a break over there in my portable house? I'm sure the food that Hatsuki chan made for us will get cold the moment we get over there, so we might as well eat it now"

"Oooo!" Kotaro began to drool with the mere thought of Hatsuki's cooking. "I know that I don't really eat much, but when it comes to Hatsuki onee san's cooking, I can't help but gorge in! Come on let's take a quick five minute break and we'll continue searching later"

"Well…" Negi seemed hesitant for a minute. "I guess a little rest before starting won't hurt anyone"

"Great de gozaru" Kaede quickly pulled out her pactio and activate it. "Let's eat in here. It's a lot warmer than this cold weather" but just when they were about to enter the secret house inside Kaede's cape, a familiar face suddenly popped out, surprising the whole team.

"Phew! It's about time you pulled it out!" to their amazement, it was Theodora who came out all dressed in her casual battle garb. "I had a great nap in there. But I'd recommend adding a double sized bed in case you have guests coming in"

"AHHH!! Theo san!" Negi leaped backwards on his staff with his short sword nearly unsheathed from its scabbard. "W… what are you doing here!?"

"What does it look like? I'm coming with you of course" she answered plainly while stretching her arms out.

"But I thought I told you to wait for us back at the ship"

"Like hell I'd do that" she replied. "I'm just here to make sure that you get back on board in five days time. I'm not going to make the same mistake like I did last time when you went to get your father. If I know you, you'll probably stay here to delay our attack plan all over again! (But…) Not buts! I'm bringing you back to the camp even if I have to drag you all the way! You hear me! (gulp…… yes) Good. Now………… you four were talking about food?"

"Don't bother trying to negotiate Negi" Kotaro groaned. "She's impossible to reason with"

So in the end, Negi was forced to accept the princess into his team.

Negi's Team: Negi, Chamo, Kotaro, Chachamaru, Kaede, and Theodora (last minute member)

Nagi's Team: Nagi, Jack, Takamichi, Eishun, Alberio, Setsuna and Ku Fei

Chisame's Team: Chisame, Misora (Cocone) and Zazie

Akira's Team: Akira, Madoka and Yuuna

Reserve Force: Everyone else that I don't wanna bother mentioning

**(Five minutes later) (Kaede's secret house)**

"Woo! That was great!" the princess squealed as she gorge on the food laid before her. She was eating at such a pace that she was ready to go onto her second plate. "I knew you had a great cook with you Negi, but I didn't know that she was this good (gobble) (chew) (swallow) Ahh… another plate please!"

"Ah, yes Theo san" Negi complied and placed more rice onto her bowl which she began gobbling up in an instant.

"Wow, for a princess you sure eat a lot" Kotaro commented. "I thought royalties always get the best food in the country"

"That's true" the woman admitted plainly waving her spoon around. "We had the chef in the empire cook for us. But the food was just too rich for my taste. I kinda like bland food better and the meat here just melts inside your mouth emm hmm! Another bowl!"

"Yes Theo san" Negi complied. "But I kind of feel bad for Kaede and Chachamaru san. We're here having a break while they're outside running for us"

"Hey don't worry aniki" Chamo puffed a cigarette, "Those girls can take care of themselves. We'll probably need the energy anyway to fight that Gryphon. If it's as strong as they say then we'll need all the strength we can get. Besides… what better way to travel then your very own portable house?"

"Yeah… I guess you're right Chamo kun" Negi soon began to relax his shoulders a bit, to ease the tension off his body. Ever since he began on this mission, he had become very serious with his own guard and barely lets it down even when he expects no enemies or opponents at all. But just when he was able to rest his body firmly on the floor, a quizzical brow was raised as he spotted someone sitting directly on the opposite side of the table. "Eh?" he squinted his eyes and cleared the fog from his glasses but there was no mistaking it.

That same semi-spiky hairstyle, that small star tipped wand and that small figure. There was no mistaking it. Negi was looking at his younger self… or to be précised……… his four year old self.

"Huh?"

"Hey Negi" Kotaro called out, making the boy jerk his attention away. "What's the matter? You look like you were out of it for a minute"

"But…" he looked back on the place where his younger self was sitting, but to his surprise, the ghost of his past self was no longer there. It was as if he vanished as mysteriously as he came. "I… I thought I… (Hmm?) I guess I must be more tired than I thought. I'm hallucinating"

"Well there's a surprise" Theodora grinned sarcastically. "You haven't been sleeping well ever since you started gathering your hosts for the fight against Fate. Since when was the last time you got a decent nap (A kid like you should be sleeping early and waking up early for school) What's your standard bed time anyway?"

"Negi's bed time?" Kotaro perked as if he realized something. "Now that you mentioned it… I kinda see you sleep really late at times and wake up early. And I usually wake up at around four in the morning just to do some exercise" the three of them turned to the boy in question with a curious eye.

"Aniki, I usually go with you but sometimes when I wake up, I don't really see you in bed. And you and I go to bed at the same time too (Around midnight if I can recall)"

"Ahehehe…" he chuckled uncomfortably. "Ahe… if you must know: I wake up around three every morning. I've been doing it for quite awhile now but I've gotten used to it"

"HAAA!!!?" the gang shrieked in disbelief. They really had no other choice but to believe him since Negi never told a lie before.

"That means you only get about three hours sleep aniki! How come you never tell me!?"

"Because I thought that if I told you guys, you'd make a big deal out of it"

"This is a big deal!" Kotaro scolded. "Even though I like to make my bed time really late, waking up that early is still inhumane even for you!"

"But don't worry" Negi waved it off. "I've gotten pretty used to it. Usually I just sleep for just two hours and I'm already back on my feet"

"LIAR!!" Theo yelled out comically. "Go to bed. NOW!"

"But…"

"No buts! A boy your age should be sleeping at least 9 to 10 hours each night so that you'll grow strong and tall. Now I can see why you haven't grown an inch since we last met"

"Hey! That's rude!"

"Why don't you go get some rest aniki?" Chamo recommended. "You can use the backroom there and sleep as long as you want. Kaede nee san will call you when we got something" with all three of them were now against him, Negi had no other choice but to head to the backroom and forced to take a little nap on the futon laid out for him. He didn't mind it though. The weather inside the secret housing was always good and the wind was steady but gentle enough to make a person lounge to sleep.

**(The Great Paru Sama) (Briefing room)**

It had only been a few hours since the teams were dropped and in that short time span Kazumi had decided to reconfigure the briefing room and make it into a map room. With Satomi's expertise and Yue and Nodoka's remarkable intelligence gathering abilities, they were able to make the room into a high-tech scouting facility. At the center of the room was an incomplete hologram of Mt. Kael Island, where Kazumi spent her time looking at it trying to put in the missing pieces of the puzzle with her artifact constantly scanning every inch of the mountain.

Yue and Nodoka sat by the table nearby with a stack of books ranging from Mountainous Geography to Life Studies of Mythical Creatures and even The Idiot's Guide to Animals. They flip page by page not missing a single word and a single sentence in hopes of understanding their opponent far better.

Occasionally, Haruna would come by to do a checkup on them to see if there was anything they needed. Mana of course would come by and check on them too since she was the only one who had legitimate combat experience left on board the ship.

On several occasions, Ako herself would also drop by to give the espionage group some refreshments from the cafeteria. With everyone working so hard, it was only natural that they would need something to keep their heads leveled and their stamina in check.

"Kazumi chan" Sayo the ghost of the class interrupted the girl's focus. "How's it going?"

"Not good" she muttered silently. "With all the interference and the clouds looming over the mountain, I can barely get the upper part of the mountain. I'll just have to do another rain check on that" she moved her hand onto a button and spoke through some sort of walkie talkie. "Hey Paru, can you boost the scanner reception a bit more to get us a better look at the place?"

"It's already set to high Kazumi" the manga artist replied. "This is the latest scanning technology Ricardo could get us so it's the best we can get"

"Then I guess we'll just have to make due. Can you get the ship any higher? We might get a better reception from higher ground"

"No… that's not possible either. If we get any higher the pressure of the ship will build up and in a few minutes we'll be ripped to shreds like we're being sucked into a giant cheese grater"

"EH!? I don't want to be cheese Haruna san!" Fumika yelped in fear.

With everyone running around looking for things to do, Yue decided to take a little break from her reading. Back when she was in Mahora, she was never really interested in learning anything. She didn't like studying so much that she became known as one of the Baka Rangers. But when all her history books were switched to books about mythical creatures and magic spells and incantations of summoning it became a whole new story.

"Haa…" she sighed. "This isn't good. Even with all the books here, we haven't been able to learn anything about the Gryphon other than the things that Konoka's father told us. (sigh) Perhaps we could get a better analysis if we studied the thing from a closer range. What about you Nodoka? Did you find anything?" but the bookworm girl simply shook her head in response. "I thought so…"

"There really aren't many worthwhile info… but…" Nodoka muttered. "Yue san, I was wondering how you were able to get a hold of so many of these books. I've heard of these authors and writers from Aisha san and Craig san when we were on our adventures, but they said that they're nearly impossible to find even from the local libraries"

"Ah yeah, my friend Collet helped me find them" she answered. "One of her relatives seemed to be a book collector so she asked to borrow some of them for me. It was a great help during my time there in the magical school"

"Wow you're so lucky Yue san. I wished I could go to a magic school like you did (and practice all those magic together like we did back in Mahora)"

"Yeah, maybe after all of this is over, we can ask a recommendation from Nagi or Eishun san. I'm sure we can ask the dean to give us pardon from school as well. We can also bunk in the same room just like what we do in our old school"

"That would be nice" Nodoka seemed rather thrilled to be actually talking about moving to a magic school like that. She always learned basic magic spells from Negi and the other mages of Mahora before but to go to a place where magic was a form of education made her excited. "You can give me pointers too on how to use the broom too"

"Deal! And in return, you can help me with some of the written essays. (They're extremely hard, especially in a different language too) We can stay in one room together and become great mages just like Negi sensei"

But then suddenly, Haruna's face appeared in between them with a sadistic grin on her face. "Hey hey hey there you two. Planning to go on a wonderful journey without me? I thought we promised not to hide secrets anymore kekekekeke. And what's with the 'just the two of us' thing? Aren't you forgetting about someone?"

"WAHHH! Paru!?" Yue stopped on her sentence as she was unable to continue because of a pinching finger on her cheek. "Ahh! Uncle uncle!"

"If you guys are going to study abroad then at least take me with you!!!"

"Ahh! We're sorry Haruna san! We'll include you too of course!" Nodoka squealed painfully.

Kazumi sweat dropped on them. "Geeze. Some things really never change with those three. Even though we're facing the end of the world as we know it they still act like they used to be" but just when she got back to work, a glimpse of an object in the radar suddenly caught her eye. "Eh? What was…?"

The trio noticed her facial expression change. "What's the matter Kazumi?" Haruna asked.

"N… nothing" she waved it off. "I thought I saw something on the map earlier. Must be my imagination"

"You're probably tired from all the work. Why don't you take a break at the longue and come back later. Neither of us have had any decent rest ever since we came back anyway"

"Y… yeah you're probably right" but little did they know that the faint object she saw was more than just her imagination running wild.

**(Mt. Kael Caverns)**

"Haaa…" Chisame, the one who was leading the third party down the tunnel yawned out as she followed Misora through the small tunnel system that ran deep within the center of the mountain. So far they have only been following one straight path with two forks on the road that led to quick dead ends. Since most of them were not really particularly conversational types, the group remained silent except for usual orders and decision making by the team leader.

"Man, this totally blows" the nun-wannabe groaned. "Why do I have to be chosen for this mission? I could've stayed on board the ship and be eating buns instead of going through a moss infested cave! (sigh) I could also be eating my early lunch with Hatsuki's cooking and meat bun from the stove. Just because I'm a more experienced mage doesn't mean I don't have a safety rule for myself"

"_Apparently, you're just useful being a flashlight for us to see here, idiot!" _Chisame thought in her head as she continued following with Zazie by her side. After a few minutes they came upon a small opening where it once was a nest not too long ago. "Hmm? It looks like the path splits up from here on. This might be the place where the beast nest" but Zazie simply shook her head in response. "Yeah I guess you're right. This place is too dark to be a nest. We'll need to find a place where there's adequate space"

"It looks like some kind of open room" Misora replied. "Maybe a tunnel intersection?"

"Maybe a smugglers hideout" Chisame guessed. "Who knows? (pause) Anyway there's nothing around here. Let's move on" the three of them slowly continued through until they reached a somewhat muddy area at the center of the room. "What the? The floor is getting muddy…"

"Yeah, my shoes are getting all soak too"

"Misora, can you brighten up your light? We need to get a clear view of this place" the young magician complied and quickly increased her magic to illuminate the place. Once the team got a clear view of the place they suddenly realize that they were not in a nest… but a tomb of some sort. There were bones littered on the ground and critters of all manners of species crawling through them making those hissing and squishy sound.

"Eh…?" Misora's eyes went blank.

"Ah…" Cocone let out a mother of sweat drop.

"Oh…" Chisame grew an irritated vein.

"Bug…" Zazie spoke out emotionlessly as usual.

"WAHHHHHH!!!!" with one loud yell, both Misora and Chisame leaped in to hug Zazie to get away from the bugs. "Bugs!!! Why did it have to be bugs!!?"

"Calm down Misora! The more you move, the more aggressive they'll become!" Chisame barked.

"The only thing I hate more than doing chores for sister Shakti sensei is bug! Go away, go away!"

"Can't you use your magic to fend them off or something!? (You're a mage aren't you!?)"

"I can't cast a spell when I'm scared!"

"Take a chill pill they won't hurt you unless you hurt them first!"

"I never finished wizard training before!"

"You're useless!!!"

**(On the other side of the cavern)**

"Hmm?" Akira, the leader of team four let out a questioning sound as she heard an echo coming through their side of the tunnels. Ever since they touched down on the ground they've encountered very little problems other than mud on their shoes and how cold it was down here in the caverns. Since they were not as experienced mages like the others on the Negima club, they had to rely on basic flashlights and oil lit lanterns to light the way for them.

"What's wrong Akira?" Madoka asked.

"Oh nothing… I thought that I heard Chisame yelling a minute ago"

**(Nagi's team)**

"Boy, what a view" the Thousand Master yawned out for what appeared to be the sixth time ever since he was dropped off from the ship. "It kind of makes me wanna take another nap again. Hey guys, why don't we take another break here? This place looks like a perfect spot for a picnic"

"Eh? But didn't we just eat ten minutes ago Nagi dono?" Setsuna raised a quizzical look. "We haven't even reached the open ground yet"

"Yeah, but I feel tired and all this walking is kinda boring" he explained through sighs. "I wanna go out and eat something again. After eating all that food that we brought along it kind of reminded how hungry my stomach was. (I even went on a one month fasting)" he then gave out a chibi face which would've worked against people who underestimated his abilities.

"Again, same old Nagi" Albireo grinned. He had already gotten used to Nagi's attitude swing back when he was a kid so it was no surprise there.

"And to think that you were actually a drop out from the magic academy" Eishun sighed with one hand holding his head.

"Hey! I may be a drop out, but I'm still the greatest magician in the entire world!" Nagi posed proudly. "I don't even need that silly cheat sheet anymore to cast spells. I got it all perfectly memorized right here" he gestured to his head to which Eishun had a difficult time believing.

"Oh really?" but when Mr. Konoe pulled the Thousand Master's arms out from his robes, he discovered that his entire hand, up to his shoulder were scribbled with white board marker ink. "Then I guess these things on your arms are probably just tattoos you got when you were out traveling!" Nagi simply let out a sweat drop as he was caught red handed by his friend. "Geeze, you haven't changed a bit. You're still that imbecilic-short-term-memory-loss-guy that peeps in women's bathroom!"

"Hey! That last one was an experiment!" he reasoned. "I made myself invisible to test my new spells so that we could sneak without being noticed, remember?" he was so focused on finding a reason that he didn't even noticed Rakan holding out a signpost that said 'He's definitely lying'. And right before they knew it, the two of them were in another argument which Al and Jack were able to recognize all too familiarly.

"Yeah, like anyone in school would believe that story!"

"What's so hard on believing that!?"

But on the other end, Setsuna simply sweat dropped. _"Right now, I'm just having a hard time seeing you as Negi's father"_ she let out a sweat drop fall from her head.

"Don't let it get to you Setsuna" Al stated catching her attention. "He may look like a complete idiot but that doesn't make him any less of a man than he was before. It's not about strength or power… it's him. That's just how he is and how he reacts to everything. I'll admit I have a hard time comparing both him and Negi but deep down inside, they both are alike in ways I couldn't possibly imagine"

"I can see the resemblance aru" Ku Fei nodded. "They also have the same blue eyes but other than their faces they have nothing in common aru"

**(Back with Negi) (Kaede's hidden house)**

"Haaa" Negi yawned out to himself as he moved another chess piece on the shogi bored where he was forced to play with Kotaro due to the fact that he was 'grounded' in the room with no permission to go out from Theodora. But unfortunately for him he was unable to go to sleep due to his body now being used to staying up for a long period of time even with a short amount of rest. "Checkmate…" he stated finally after only six moves.

"Good move aniki" Chamo gave out a thumbs up to the boy.

"Man… I can never get this chess thing down" Kotaro groaned irritatingly. "It's bad enough that I have to babysit you here and watch you sleep now I have to learn how to play this stupid game as well? (Just go to sleep already)"

"I'm sorry. It's just that my body isn't used to sleeping this early anymore" he reasoned with his hand behind his head. "I guess you could say that my metabolism is more efficient than others"

"A whole better reason why you should go to sleep" Kotaro urged showing his fangs. "If you don't keep an eye on your stamina you might just fall in battle before it even starts. Which reminds me, how long have you ever gone without sleep? If you had short time rests then you should at least have some bags around your eyes (Did you put on makeup or something?)"

"Well… last time I fought Evangeline san and Rakan san with just six hours rest for a whole week in the training ground that Ricardo gave us" Chamo and Kotaro face faulted hard on the tatami floor with huge veins popping on their heads. "Is… that bad?"

"Of course it's bad you idiot!!!" the wolf boy yelled to the top of his lunges. "How could anyone, even you of all people fight two of the strongest legends in the world and still come out alive with only six hours of sleep!?"

"Ahh… well I guess the more I trained the less sleep I need"

"Aniki, I admire your dedication and strength, but you're gonna kill yourself if this goes on" Chamo muttered with a bit of a breath at the end. "I think I'd better get your futon ready"

Kotaro rose back up and angrily roared at the boy. "Alright that's it! It's bed time Negi! (Huh?) Come over here!" without a word of warning Kotaro pulled his friend by his coat and forcefully tucked him into his bed.

"W… wait Kotaru kun, I don't want to go to sleep yet! I'm not tired at all, really!" before Chamo knew it, the two of them were already fighting onboard the futon that he pulled out from the cabinet. "Ahh! Stop pushing!"

"Then stop resisting! Here let me tuck you in and put this blanket on! (No!) Put it over you or I'll put you to sleep myself!" and right then Chamo couldn't believe what he was seeing. He heard of kids not wanting to go to sleep but another guy forcing someone else to sleep was just not what he had in mind.

"Oi oi…" the ermine spoke up. "I'm not really sure how this situation can be taken as a Rated: K or Rated: M, but you guys should really stop it before someone comes by and…"

"What's all the noise going on over here!?" Theodora roared into the room. "Negi are you still awake? I thought I told you… to… uwaaa…?" her eyes immediately widened when she suddenly realized the position they were in. Kotaro looked as if he was forcing Negi on the bed and the boy was doing very little to resist. _"Wha hooo! What game plan!"_ she yelled in her head. Just by looking at them, Theodora could've imagined so many scenarios and solutions that made her fantasized about this situation. It was just so gullible that blood started puffing out of her nose.

"Ahh! Theo san!"

After about five minutes later, the princess was able to get back on her own two feet and sit along with the rest of them. To stop her blood loss from going any further she plugged her nose with a tissue. "Geeze you two" she groaned. "I asked for you to get some rest and here I find you playing around of all things"

"Sorry Theo san. It's just that I can't sleep knowing that we're on a mission like this"

"Aniki's very dedicated princess" Chamo added. "But out of everything he's still just a kid who doesn't like to sleep early"

"Hey, what can I say?" Kotaro yawned. "When the guy's focused on one thing it would take almost a miracle to stop him from doing something crazy"

"Sheesh and I thought that you were more mature than your dad. Maybe your friend Asuna was right, you really are an idiot!"

…

…

…

…

…

…

The room immediately filled with silence with the mere mention of Asuna's name. Theo realized her ill words and covered her mouth in horror. Whenever Negi would hear that name he would be put into a seriously depressing mood or a fitting rage depending on the situation. Negi would probably call it his biggest failure in his life as a mage and in his career as a teacher. To be able to bring everyone back but unable to save one student that he promised to protect…… was like a huge blow to his faith.

Kotaro grunted and faced the princess. "Ok… now that was a low blow even for you Theo san"

She lowered her head in apology. "Sorry, it just slipped that's all"

"Ara… I guess the rumors of you being the loudmouth princess wasn't a lie after all" Chamo sighed and quickly puffed a cigarette into his mouth.

"Oh no it's ok everyone" Negi waved it off. "I'm fine, really. I… I…… I just need… I just need some fresh air" he said quickly before dismissing himself to the outer corridor to reach the garden where he could take a breather from the memories.

The moment he was out of sight, Kotar flung a rock onto the girl and whispered irritatingly. "Great… now look what you did! Now he'll never go to sleep like this!"

Negi's heart slowly calmed as he reached the flower garden after that brief whip from Theodora. He knew that she meant well for him but she just couldn't understand how he was feeling this whole mess. When he realized that the Asuna that was with him was an imposter, he felt like the whole world came crashing down on him. Not only did it do a severe blow to the moral of his students it also damaged his faith on himself. To fail on the same mission that his father undertook during the war twenty years ago felt like he was repeating history itself.

"Asuna san…" he muttered before closing his eyes to relax his muscles. "I hope you're ok" he remembered that day when he decided to launch a surprise attack on Fate's base of operations in the old capital of Ostia about a month ago. The plan he conjured against his enemies was probably perfect. With coordinated attacks from his knights and direct support from some of the members of Ala Rubra, they managed to plow through the defenses of the base and crippled Fate's plan before he had a chance to react. The fight was long and hard but eventually Negi was able to reach the command center with a few of his team in tow. From there he fought against Fate and with his improved skill he was able to wound him fatally, forcing the sorcerer to withdraw from the capital using an escape route he planned out long ago.

Ping…

"Huh?" the chiming sound of a familiar pair of bells rang in his ears making him open his eyes. He looked around and heard it ring again.

Ping…

"That sound……… Asuna?" marked with realization he quickly jerk his head around and placed himself in a combat stance. "Asuna?" he muttered her name again, but only to find in deep regret that it was probably just his imagination.

"Negi" came a telepathic communication from Kaede.

The boy quickly placed his hand over his head and focused on the reception. "Yes Kaede san, what is it? Is there something wrong?"

"No, it's just that we found a perfect spot for your teleportation magic. Chachamaru scanned the ground twice already and she says that it's a clean place. You can come out whenever you like"

"Alright I'll start the spell immediately. I'm coming out" he quickly turned towards the exit gate and shook off the sound he heard earlier. Perhaps they were right. Maybe he wasn't getting enough sleep that he's beginning to hear things.

"O… oi Negi" Kotaro stood up to follow him, but the mage simply signaled him to stay… and for some reason the wolf boy seemed to obey.

In just a few minutes the boy exited the hidden house through the arch shaped gate and made his way to the spot where Chachamaru and Kaede stood by. The place he was standing on was perfect for his spell. It was wide, sturdy enough to hold a small army and it had a perfect view of the mountain top. The only

"What do you think Negi?" Kaede asked showing him the spot that was perfect for the spell.

"This will do Kaede san, Chachamaru san" he smiled at them then pulling his staff to his side. "Why don't you two head back in and rest? Once I finish with the spell I'll call you out"

"Eh? But wouldn't it be better if we stayed here de gozaru?"

"Oh that won't be necessary. The spell will take awhile even for me to chant" he explained. "A mass teleportation spell would require at least ten hours just to set up, but since we're only making a half journey it would take about 3 hours tops. So it would be best if you just rest and save your energy" the boy was probably best when it comes to persuasion of others. With his charisma and charm even the most hardheaded knuckle brains of the stubbornness earth giants would be persuaded to follow his orders.

"Well… if you say so" Kaede submitted. "But if need anything just give us a ring, ok de gozaru"

"Right" and with the two of them gone into the secret house, Negi immediately began preparations of the spell. But little did he know that the bell sound he heard earlier was more than just his imagination.


	10. Enemies at the Rear

**Chapter 10: The Journey to Mt. Kael (Part 3: Enemies at the Rear!)**

**(Negi's mindscape)**

Negi once again floated at the sanctuary of his mind. His eyes seemingly widen as he remembered the place fairly. The area around him had not changed since he last saw it. When the fires of his village took over his mind with darkness and anger, the colors of this place just seemed to have melted away into the bottomless Black-Hole beneath him.

"I see you were able to find yourself back" the boy swung his head around to the greeting face of his self proclaimed conscious, Siegfried who has yet to reveal his face to the boy. "Welcome back Negi. Though I must say that I am quite surprised to see you again, if I was expecting guests I would've cleaned the place a long time ago"

"You're…… Siegfried?" the boy's memories were not what they used to be. After the battle with his father came to an end, it felt like there was a huge gap in between him and his current self.

But nonetheless, the conscious seemed rather happy. "I am glad that you were able to remember my name. I thought that after that little conflict with your father, you would've forgotten everything about me" he then quickly pulled out two chairs and a table and laid them on an empty ground area which seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Come come, have a seat. Standing and floating around isn't good for your back" he humored to which the boy graciously accepted. "I would've offered you tea my friend but seeing that this is in your head, it would be useless to do so"

Negi nodded dumbly at his statement and began to wonder. He soon began to trace his mind to what he remembered last. "How did… I get…"

"Back in here?" he finished off his sentence for him. "Well let me refresh your memory. You were traveling with your friends, looking for the Gryphon feather. You split up with your teammates in various locations and are now planning to cast a teleportation spell. You must've lost consciousness when you cast the spell. I guessed that shouldn't be a surprise since a spell of that caliber requires at least ten magise to complete"

"I…"

"Don't worry" he cut him off. "Your little wolf friend is watching over you at the moment even though he doesn't realize that you're unconscious, I doubt he'll leave you behind to freeze in the cold"

"Then I should wake up" Negi quickly stood up from his seat as he knew that time was not something he had the luxury of having. "I should complete the spell before our time runs out. How do I get out of here?"

"Oh don't worry" Siegfried waved it off. "Time here flows different here in your head. A year here could possibly just be a minute out there. But if you want to wake up so badly, then all you need to do is pinch yourself real hard on your cheek" Negi quickly followed the man's instructions and pinched his left cheek with half his might, making him yell in pain.

"Oww! That hurt!" he looked around but strangely enough, he didn't seem to have woken. "Hey… it didn't work"

Siegfried held in a chuckling voice noticing how silly he looked. "Of course not silly. You can't pinch yourself awake. You have to have other people do it. Here let me" and without even waiting for an answer the man reached out and pinch Negi on his right cheek making it turn red.

"Oww!!" again Negi flinched away in pain rubbing both his pain throbbing cheeks. "It didn't work!?"

Siegfried then broke out a laugh. "Of course it didn't work! Hahaha. That joke works every time hehehehe (I've always wanted to see his reaction)" he held his stomach with his hand and banged the table a few times trying to contain his unstable humor. "But you should've seen your face hehehehehehe"

The boy pouted. "That's not funny! (and that really hurt my cheeks!)" a blush became slightly visible as he realized that it was just some pointless joke.

"Oh ok I had my share of laughs today. The truth is…… the only way to get out from your unconscious realm, is for you… to wake up. (To wake up?) Yes" he nodded back to the boy who returned to his seat. "Since you came here by accident, the only way you can leave is by leaving by accident. That means you can only wake up when your body wants to. Call it uh…… hibernation if you will. Bears do it all the time and I can see why they're not bored of it, it's actually quite relaxing"

"But I have to get up!" Negi reasoned. "We still need to get to the top of the mountain, find a gryphon, talk with Setsuna's people, return to camp, plan a strategy and then return back to the academy then I have to plan a schedule for everyone and…"

"Whoa…" Siegfried stopped the boy with a wave of his hand as he could imaginatively feel that his ears were falling off. "Easy there Negi. I know that you have a lot on your plate right now but please… don't bore me to death with that story. I'm bored enough here without something happening, so save it when you're out there. And besides…… even if you do have a lot on your hands right now, there isn't anything you can do about it. (Huh?) Heh… well like it or not, you're stuck here with me until your body recovers and that will take about… oh… I don't know. A couple of hours at best maybe?"

"A couple of hours!?" Negi shrieked. "But what if someone gets attacked? Or if someone needs my help or if someone wants to contact me? What should I do? I can't just sit here and wait while everyone else is working so hard! I can't be slacking off" he began pacing back and forth trying to figure a way out of the place. He looked so worried that he seemed like he was gonna crack. "This isn't good. I need to check up with Rakan san. I also still need to talk with Theo san about the plan and the ones I left on the ship. And and and…"

As the boy continued rambling over and over, Siegfried couldn't help but plug his ears with his pinky fingers and rolled his eyes around with a gesture of boredom. "Look Negi" he said finally, cutting the boy off his mixed up sentence. "Let's round off your accomplishment so far to get the tense off you" he counted with his fingers and gestured the boy to sit and be still for at least a minute. "You were hunted by two countries by bounty hunters from all over the magic world. You fought off the divine warriors, fought Jack Rakan who was clearly out of league, battled giants, demons and dragons from far off lands, assembled the largest host this world has ever seen, mastered half of the magic arts and now… you're off to find one of the most dangerous creatures of all. I say you can take a break and let your friends get some work done"

"But…" Negi wanted to argue and try to get off but there was just nothing in his mind right now to counter that sentence. And that's an understatement seeing that he was already in his own head. "Well… I… I guess you're… right" he admitted.

"Thank you" the conscious sighed with relief. "Now… come. Since you have plenty of free time here, why don't we talk about something that really matters? I could talk to someone seeing that I'm quite alone here most of the time and it's not often that I get to see my master for the second time"

Negi surrendered himself to the man's plight. He was right. He was already passed his limits, and if what half of what he said was true then it would be best if he could rest his mind even for just a short while. Later, food suddenly sprung up from the table and to the boy's surprise, they were all of his favorites. Ham and eggs, toast bread with butter, and a cup of fragrant, highly refined Austian tea mixed with milk and a teaspoon of cream.

"Please help yourself" the man offered. "The food here doesn't satiate your hunger but the taste remains on your mouth"

"Th… thank you" Negi did very little to hold himself back as he began chowing down on the food and to his amazement, they actually tasted good. Exactly the same way Konoka makes them back at the dorm house. "Wow, its delicious!" he continued devouring the food but kept his manners in check at the same time. "Konoka made the same thing for me"

"I'm glad you like it" Siegfried smiled showing a little of his mouth from his hood. "Your mind compensates the taste and your brain processed the input. This is your mind after all so it's no surprise that everything is to your liking"

"But why is it so dark?" Negi questioned, still taking a bite off the buttered toast. "Is it always like this?"

Siegfried seemed to have flinched a little but kept it well hidden from Negi's eyes. "This is your mind Negi. When you're not around you can change its color to whatever you wish. I simply like it better dark. Light deals damage to your skin you see" he humored showing his tanned arms to him. "But if you want light, then all you need to do is think of something really bright and sunny and it shall be done. Just… let me know when you're going to do it"

"Alright then…" the moment the man saw Negi thinking, he quickly covered his face and arms again and made sure that whatever light came through, his face would remain hidden. Although he had to hold a little laugh as he noticed Negi doing some ridiculous faces while he was thinking. A few minutes later, a light-bulb suddenly out of the boy's head making Siegfried quirk an eyebrow. "How's that?"

"A light bulb?" the conscious questioned. "I was expecting something bigger like a disco ball with neon lights but I guess this is a good attempt for a first timer. Very simple yet very affective"

As Negi readjust his eyes to the light he soon realized that the room he was in was strangely smaller than he expected. He was in a large 10x10 square room with bookshelves on each corner of the room that probably contained his past memories and knowledge. There was a wall that surrounded the place and, a few pictures that decorated the place but the colors that he melted during the first time he came here seemed to have vanished.

"This is place is… smaller than I expected" he stated looking a bit disappointed.

"Well with you being able to categorize everything within a few seconds and solving a problem in record time, everything in your head was organized before you were even brought here" Siegfried gestured to some of the books that he noted. "Each book contains a chapter of your memory Negi. The color represents what kind of memory it was and the number on it tells how old you were when it happened. This ranges from good to bad. Blue, is a common happy memory, sky blue, is a very good and satisfying memory. Pink books represent either love or embarrassing memories. These I like to watch every time" he let out a small chuckle as he pulled out one of the pink books from the shelves. "Here take a look at this one. This was the time when your student Nodoka confessed to you and ran away"

As the vision showed up on the boy's face he suddenly remembered how embarrassed and stressed he was during that time. He had so many things to do and to protect the entire student body was just too much even for a ten year old kid. "Ahh!"

"Oh don't be such a baby" the man patted the boy's head and quickly returned the book to its rightful place. "But I must say that you looked pretty funny when you were embarrassed. Oh and here's another one of my personal favorites. The time when you got bathed by your students ahahahaha. It was like watching an X-rated video on the silver screen"

"Ahh! Sieg san, don't look at that!"

"Oh don't be a worry-wart. I've been looking through these memories every time I was bored. I still can't believe how lucky you are. I even bet that Rakan would fight the war all over again just to take your place hehehe. Oh and this is where you blew off Asuna's cloth when you first met" in a matter of seconds the man that gave Negi the power to fight the Thousand Master, turned into a father who just loved to embarrass his own child. Negi was glad none of his friends or family was here or he'd be so ashamed that he could just jump off a cliff and die.

"Sieg san!"

"Relax Negi. Looking through your history is what I do as a conscious" the man replied with a semi serious look and a half joking noise. "But mostly I just like to read through your most embarrassing memories as a pastime"

Seeing that the man wasn't going to stop, Negi decided to leave him alone and walk through the rest of the room. There were a lot of pink books and blue books in the archives and it seemed to take almost ¾ of the whole rack. But when he finally came to the end, he finally discovered the bad books.

In a small rack isolated from the rest of the archives and placed neatly and untouched at the far edge of the room, were red, gray and black books. The covers in each of the books resembled that of skulls, demons and emptiness. They had a sickening aura around them that made one wanted to puke and the smell they gave out felt rather poisoning. But Negi did not look back. He could tell the moment he saw them that they were the bad memories he had. It didn't take a genius to tell that the red books were those angry moments he had, the gray books were the sad and lonely memories and the black ones held the grim reality of lost and bitterness of the world. It was not something that anyone would want to experience ever again.

-If the saddest moments of your life can only be done once,

than that is all I need to see the world how it is really is-

-B.K.-

Negi resisted the urge to open those books since he could remember everything that were in them. He can recall every terrible event that has happened to him for the past six years of his life. The destruction of his village, the lost of his uncle, and his encounters with Titrum and his future grand daughter, Chao Ling Shen. These events alone will probably haunt him till his grave but he chose to live with them and move on. After a quick look at those books he continued forward towards another section of the room where it seemed rather plain and empty.

The boy wanted to explore the remaining contents of his mind but the more he looked around, the stranger it got. When he was finally able to become conscious in his mindscape he expected it to be a lot wider and roomier. It almost felt like he was thinking inside a small box or something. He at least expected to see some sort phenomenon that would make every art in history look like nothing more but a single picture frame with a blank photograph.

But just as he was about to just stop and take a quick break on the chair, he suddenly got his wish. His eyes widened and he could've sworn that he stopped breathing for a minute there.

Out at the farthest edge of the bookshelves in a small corner laid something that stood out among everything that the boy had seen so far. A giant book about six times his size ad height leaned against the wall. Its pages sprung wide open and a single candle stood just beyond its reach flickering dimly just enough for him to see the words written on them.

"This is…?" Negi fumbled on his words. He couldn't tell what it was or what the book represented, but he could tell that this book did not belong in his head. Its pages were old and even the slightest touch could permanently damage or taint the ink on it.

But being the curious boy that he was and seeing that this was his mind after all, Negi decided to see what was in them. With a quick hold on the first page, he focused his energy to see what its contents were. But to his surprise, he was suddenly bounced off from the book when a magical barrier deflected him away. "Wahh!" he landed on his back a few meters from the book. "What the? A magic seal?" after recovering from the blow he took a closer look to analyze what the barrier was doing. "A seal… and a powerful one too" he tried tapping it again with his magic but the results were the same. His hand would bounce back and would be half electrocuted as well.

"I don't think you'd want to go in there, master" Siegfried's voice perked up from behind catching Negi off guard. "What you wish to see is exactly the same thing that you do not wish to see"

"Why? What's in there?"

"Memories…" he answered while closing the book and securing it tightly with a ribbon. "Memories that you did not wish to have. And as your conscious, I recommend that you do not pass through here until you reach your puberty. It is only best for you, and trust me… I know that you are not ready to face what is in them" though Negi was extremely curious on what could be the memory he did not wish to have, he had to respect his keeper's wishes. If there was something to be gained while waiting then he was ready to wait as long as necessary when he was ready.

**(Out of Negi's mindscape)**

"Haa… haaaa… haaaaa… HAAACHOOO!" Kotaro let out a sneeze that echoed in the cold winds that breezed through the mountains. He was tasked with looking after Negi outside the comfort of Kaede's house so that he would make sure that no harm would come to the boy. He didn't volunteer for this job but since he picked the shortest straw he had little but to stay out and bear the harsh weather of minus 30 degrees. "Dammit, this sucks!" he barked. "Negi! Can't you hurry it up with that spell? I'm freezing my butt out here!"

Negi himself was sitting in a lotus stance with a semi-large magic circle around him to prepare to make a twenty mile teleportation link between this location and the mountain top. But he remained silent to the wolf boy's request and remained still like he was not even awake. (literally)

"Yo Kotaro" Kaede popped out of her house.

"Ah Kaede nee san. What's up?"

"It's time to change shift" she answered. "Go on in and take a break. Chachamaru is preparing some snacks. (Oh goody! Food!)" with the mere mention of food, Kotaro quickly rushed into the cape and disappeared, leaving the girl alone with the mage-prodigy. Kaede didn't mind the cold. Since she lived in the wild parts of Japan for quite some time, her body had gotten used to cold temperature. With a little stretch of her body and a deep breath, she assumed position and watched Negi from a good distance not to disturb his work.

**(Chisame's team)**

Chisame and her group were pacing slowly and carefully down the cave that Negi assigned them. After they had gotten past the bug infested area and getting through the muddy caverns they were finally able to reach the center of the cave system.

"Looks like this is the place" Chisame stated as she looked around with her flashlight. "Hey Misora, can you shed some light around here?"

"Are you sure there aren't any bugs?" Chisame let out a sweat drop as she noted that the young nun was still riding on Zazie's back while carrying Cocone on her head.

"Yes, I'm sure" she sighed.

Once Misora was down she took out her cross and shed light to the entire cave. To her relief, Chisame was right and there wasn't a single bug in sight. "Phew…… thank goodness. I didn't think I would've been able to take another minute of bugs crawling around my feet" as they looked around they noted that the cave system they were in was gigantic. The place was actually big enough to hold the entire Mahora university auditorium with some extra room as storage. There was a small stream that passed through a crack on the wall but other than that, it was pretty much just a cave. "Wow… this place is huge"

"Really big" Cocone added.

"But no gryphon" Chisame concluded. "It looks like nothing has been in these caves for quite some time now. The walls are hallowed and the ground is cold. That means no one's stepped on these rocks for at least a day or two"

"But do you think this place might be able to hold a gryphon?" Misora questioned. "I mean… the cave we came through seemed rather small to hold a creature that big and from Konoka's father said: It's at least as big as ¼ of 109 (109 is the name of a store in Shibuya Tokyo also pronounced as Tokyu)"

"But it's not accurate" the computer genius answered back. "In any case we should at least report back to Negi. I wouldn't want him worrying about us. He already has enough on his plate for one day" but just when she was about to activate her pactio card, Zazie suddenly spoke up.

"Gryphon…"

"Hmm?" Misora tilted her head. "What is it? Do you see something Zazie chan?"

"Gryphon… foot" she repeated.

Misora looked around but saw nothing of what she talking about. "Ehh? Are you seeing stuff again Zazie?"

It wasn't long then till Chisame realized that Misora was standing on what appeared to be a giant bird foot print. "No way! Misora, you're standing on a gryphon!"

"What!? Where?!"

"No you dolt! It's a foot print! And a huge one at that" Chisame quickly pulled the girl away and analyze the print. "Well it does look like it. But let's just have it analyzed before we conclude anything" she then quickly pulled out her Ala Alba badge and gave it a ring.

**(The Great Paru Sama) (Briefing room)**

The reserved members of the Ala Alba were asleep that night. When the moon was high in the sky, the ones who remained behind slowly fell asleep at the room where they gathered. Those who had their own bed rooms quickly moved themselves into the briefing room and decided to make the room a giant sleepover place so that they would be ready if they were needed. But as time passes on, one by one, the students began to fall asleep on each other, exhausted from the waiting.

The only remaining students who were still awake at that time was Mana, who vigilantly patrols the ship's perimeter in case of any attackers who tried to sneak by and Haruna, who pilots the ship at the bridge so that they would not crash onto any debris that littered the skies of the magic world.

As the gunman entered the briefing room to check up on the students, she noticed that the communication light was on, meaning that someone was trying to get to them. Kazumi, who was supposed to keep track of all incoming calls, had already fallen asleep with her earphones down so it was not surprise why no one was answering it.

Not wanting to wake the others Mana gladly took the phone and answered the call. To her surprise, it was Chisame who called. "Oh, Chisame san"

"Mana?" Chisame herself was also surprised on who answered since she and the gun lady never really talked one on one before. "Where's Kazumi?"

"Asakura san is sleeping at the moment. Only Kiotome san and I are awake at the moment. Is there something wrong?"

"Just wanted to check on something (No wonder I couldn't get through to her) We found something that looks like gryphon's foot print, I'm sending you a photo through my badge. Can you try to see if it matches?"

"Understood" after a few minutes of scanning the picture sent by the ground team, Mana quickly put out a photo from one of the books that Nodoka was reading and matched it mark. "Yes, the picture fits the sample" she answered finally. "But from the looks of it. This foot print seems to be pretty old. A rough guess would say that it was about a few months ago"

"Then I guess this is a dead end" Chisame let out a sigh. "Alright then, I'll report to Negi first. Call me if anything new develops"

"Of course" and the moment Mana turned the screen off, her mind suddenly detected something strange on board the ship. Back during the early days when the Ala Alba first came into play in the magic world, she was usually tasked in protecting the ship along with Ku Fei from enemy sneak attacks. By that time she soon found herself to be part of the ship itself. She could tell which part goes where, and what each pipe sounds like and can even tell if there was a problem with the engine by just hearing the humming coming from the walls.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Without even waiting, she rushed off towards the outer observation deck where the sound originated from. Though there was no one there, she could still feel the presence of one who did not belong to the ship or any of Negi's allies. "There's no use in hiding, I know you're here and it's only a matter of time before I find you" she declared to the elusive intruder who continued to remain silent.

…

…

…

…

…

"Very well then" in a quick flash, Mana pulled out her pistols and fired it on a wall and in an instant, a figure appeared.

It was none other than Shiori, the copycat who appeared. "As expected from one of Negi's Knights. Fate sama warned me about you, Mana Ryumiya of Ala Alba"

"Shiori" Mana stated her name back. "Also known as the Bookmarker in the magic world"

"You flatter me with that title" she bowed gracefully like a ballerina dancer.

"I'm surprised that you were able to avoid my detection for this long. I'm thinking that you were able to hide along the air ducts of this ship"

"Very observant, and you must already know why I am here"

"Yes" she struck a nod. "You plan to strike us while Negi is away. With the final battle in its most crucial moment you decided make a preemptive strike by attacking while we are away from the main force. But even so… you must be pretty confident coming here on your own. Even if you are one of Fate's soldiers, you know that you stand no chance against half of us"

But then Shiori laughed at her. "Oh… I never said I came alone. I knew that it would be unfair for me to be playing with you so I brought some extra friends along. I hope you don't mind, but they exactly have the same sense of humor as I do" she then picked out several small finger-size figurines from her pocket and threw them out into the open. In a fraction of a minute, they suddenly grew into life-size figures and came to life with a simple incantation. "Allow me to introduce to you. Geisha and Mirage, my personal bodyguards"

The first golem that she called Geisha looked like that of a clay doll woman with two long pigtails that were obviously used as weapons. The second one she called Mirage looked like a Half-man-half-mirror which purpose is currently for defense.

"Golems…" Mana quickly readied her guns and prepared to fire as Shiori sent more of the small fry golems out to battle her. Before she knew it, the entire deck was flooded with those monstrous creatures.

"You do know that your bullets have no effect on them" Shiori reminded her. But her words were quickly taken back when Mana disposed three of them with headshots. Her eyes widened slightly but her pose remained calm. "Ah… I see. Magically enhanced bullets"

"Courtesy of Negi sensei" the gunman finished. "With this… I won't even need to use my pactio card to destroy you"

"Heh… you certainly surprise me. But even so, not even a master of firearms could possibly take on all of us"

"Yeah… you're right" Mana nodded in agreement. But in a move that would've impressed her master, she shot a bullet through seven golems and hit the fire alarm button at the far end of the room. And with that, the whole ship went on alert mode and everyone knows that a battle was soon to erupt here in the skies near Mt. Kael.

**(Nagi's team)**

"_Setsuna" _the girl in question was quickly alerted to the sound of her name being called. As she focused her attention she realized that it was a telepathic communication coming from Chisame.

"_Chisame san?"_ she answered. _"What is it?"_

"_We're in the main cave right now but no sign of a gryphon or any feathers at all. Right now we're just waiting for Akira's team to show up. How about you?"_

The demon-girl let out a small sweat drop as she replied. _"Oh we're good"_ her voice was a bit shaky like she was moving in a truck or something. _"We've just finished searching our place too so but uh… no dice either ahehehe"_ but as she looked behind her she groaned annoyingly as she saw Nagi and his teammates drinking sa-ke together while eating the meal that Hatsuki prepared for them.

"Kampai!!" Eishun cheered to his friends already half drunk from the drink. But that wasn't what got Setsuna annoyed. No. What rubbed her belly was the fact that Ku Fei agreed to join them as well.

"Hey, can you pass me the chicken aru?"

"Here ya go"

"Ku Fei! You shouldn't be eating with them, we should be working! (We were supposed to meet up with Negi sensei an hour ago!)" the samurai girl screamed at them but he plea was left ignored. _"Anyway… we should be done here by morning. Right now I'm having a serious time believing Negi sensei's father. I'll call you back once we meet up with Negi" _and with that last statement, she cut off the connection, not wanting to continue the conversation in such a lewd environment.

"Hey Setsuna" Rakan called out with a glass of sa-ke held up. "Come and join us. There's plenty more to go around ahahahaha!"

"YOU GUYS!!!! WE'RE NOT HERE TO HAVE A PICNIC!!! HAVE YOU ALL FORGOTTEN WHY WE'RE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!?" she screamed at them but again, her words fell to deaf ears.

"Hey Al, past the squid will ya?"

With that, the girl finally surrendered. No matter what she tried. Threats, bribe, admiration… none of them were able to motivate the team from continuing the journey. She felt like trying to move this group from one place to another was probably the same as trying to move a mountain with an ice pick. So with no reply, she finally joined them.

But then she turned her head around when Takahata tapped her shoulder and handed her a glass of water. "Don't judge them too harshly. They're only like that because they haven't seen each other for a long time"

"Takahata sensei?"

"I know that you wish to find Negi and help him look for the gryphon, but even if we wanted to… I don't think we'll be able to reach him in time" this made the girl give him a questioning look. "Haven't you noticed? We've walked right into the enemy's trap and now they have us completely surrounded on all sides" Setsuna quickly looked around but felt no presence but their own. In fact… she couldn't feel any presence at all. Like all the night animals had suddenly turned silent and hid away from something terrible. "Get ready… here they come…"

And with that motion, the ground began to shake making the members of the Ala Rubra suddenly turn silent with a serious face replacing their jokingly happy attitude. "What…?" and within seconds, hundreds of thousands of golems suddenly emerged from the ground, as if they were preparing to ambush them. "An ambush!?"

Ku Fei immediately dropped her plate on the ground and place a meat bun on her mouth just to munch for snacks. "Comphh anthh gehh ith awu (Come and get it aru!)" she challenged the first one to attack, but she was surprised when Rakan stopped her. "Eh?"

"Leave this to us little lady" the legendary mercenary smirked widely. "You can go back and eat. We'll deal with this riffraff in no time. (to Nagi) Oi oi oi… look at this Nagi. A small army of toys to play with"

"Not much of a challenge with only a few of them" the Thousand Master mocked. "I feel like we're being underestimated"

"This almost feels like the time when we had to recapture the great bridge back in that war twenty years ago. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, an almost negative percentage chance of victory…"

"Being called small fry" Nagi added which strangely pissed off Jack.

"That guy really didn't know who he was fighting against! I taught him a lesson he won't soon forget, that's for sure!"

"Yeah yeah…" Nagi waved it off. "But this is odd. Why would they be sending a large army against us?"

"Probably just to buy time. They didn't have the man power to take us on so they're probably just stalling us. To hide their true mission" Eishun concluded. "Well I guess we should deal with this rabble"

"Hey, I bet I can take out more of those golems than you guys can" Nagi challenged his compatriots whom Rakan immediately joined in.

"I'll take that bet. The loser has to give up all of his pork buns"

"Deal!"

While they were sealing the bet, Setsuna couldn't help run her hand down her face with irritation. To think that these guys would actually take such a serious matter so lightly.

**(Chisame's team)**

"Hmm… that's odd" Chisame stated getting the attention of her team.

"What is it Chisame san?" Misora asked while she was doing the hair off Cocone. Zazie on the other hand decided to juggle some mini balls that she brought along just to entertain herself. "Did something happen?"

"I can't seem to reach Negi for some reason"

"Are you out of coverage area?" the nun joked.

"Either that or Negi is too busy to answer. Huh?" but then, an echo came from the opposite side of the cave. "Hey… did you guys here something?"

"Hmm? What?" but then Misora regretted the moment she placed herself in front of the cave. Within seconds, Yuuna came rushing in and rammed onto her, tumbling her down to the ground. But what's more is that she was covered with bugs, which probably explained why she was screaming. "AHHHH!!!!!! Get them off me get them off me!!!" they both screamed in unison.

"Ah… it's Yuuna san" both Zazie and Cocone looked at each other and decided to ignore the screaming teens as they dusted the bugs from their clothes.

"Ahh! There's one inside my undies!"

"They're crawling in my ear! Chisame, do something!!"

"Oh god, if you are her master, please strike her down right now" she mumbled before moving up to help the poor nun with the bugs.

"Yuuna, wait for us!" it wasn't long then until Akira and Madoka came by to find her friend rolling around like she was on fire. "Ah! Chisame chan, Misora chan, Zazie chan and Cocone?"

"Oh hey you guys" she replied boringly. "I didn't know that it would take you this fast to get here. How was it on your end?"

"We just walked straight through the cave after we drop in" Akira answered while Madoka helped Yuuna with her bug problem. "We came to a big area an hour ago, but after that we came by a bug's nest and then we found you guys"

"So I'm guessing you didn't find a gryphon either? (Akira shakes head) Then I guess our trip down here was a dead end after all. We might as well get back to the surface and call Haruna" she quickly pulled out her pactio card and made a connection, but strangely enough there wasn't any answer coming from the other side. "Eh?"

"What's wrong Chisame"

"That's odd. I can't seem to contact Haruna. Either she's asleep or something's gone wrong"

"Maybe we're just out of range" Madoka theorized.

"Not possible. Negi made sure that our pactio cards are linked fully. It would take considerable amount of magic just to search for the right frequency and he's certain that not even Fate can eavesdrop on our conversations. Something is definitely up. We'd better get back…" but just before she could finish her sentence, Zazie suddenly lung herself to the girl, tackling her to the ground. "Wha!? Zazie, what's the big… (BAM!!) idea…?" the chunk of rock that she was sitting on earlier was then suddenly burned to a crisp, leaving nothing but charcoal in its wake.

"Impressive…" came a voice from behind, making the girls go into a defensive stance.

"Who's there!?" Akira barked. "Show yourself!" it wasn't long then when Shirabe, the violinist magician of Fate's partners appeared from the dark. "Y… you!"

"To be able to detect my magic from a far distance before effect… is something worthy of recognition" she complimented the gypsy.

"You… you're one of Fate's soldiers" Misora shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"The obvious thing of course" she replied with her unshaken emotion. "My task here is to destroy you and by doing so will increase the chances of our victory. Now that your master is off elsewhere, my mission will proceed much smoothly"

"Like we're gonna lose to you!" Yuuna responded. "Just because Negi isn't here doesn't mean we can't defend ourselves. We outnumber you and we're tough enough to take you down!" without warning, Madoka and Akira quickly activated their pactio cards and prepared to fight. They were ready to charge in the moment the girl made any sudden move with her hair. But behind them, Chisame knew that their powers were still equal.

"_Damn… I didn't expect to run into her of all people"_ she grumbled in her head_. "If Ku Fei or Kaede were here this girl wouldn't be a problem, but with these girls, our powers are more or less than equal. Not only that but those three don't have much combat experience either"_

As time slowly passes by, Misora and Zazie slowly pitched in their power and prepared for combat. But their actions simply made the sound mage grin. "Fu fu fu fu… six to one? That wouldn't be a fair fight" she slowly picked out two clay dolls from her pocket and threw them into the open. In a matter of seconds, they grew into life size creatures.

"W… what the heck are those?"

"Allow me to introduce to you… Rhapsody and Beethoven…"

"Damn…"

**(Back with Negi's mindscape)**

"Huh?" Negi jerked his head upward as a familiar voice echoed up on his ears. "What was that?"

Siegfried heard it too and it was clear that something was not right. He closed his eyes for a moment and focused on what was happening outside. Negi was amazed and saw his telepathic abilities reach far beyond his own capability. "It appears your friends are in danger (What!?) Remain calm. It is nothing you should be concerned about right now. At the moment, there are at least four new presence near your location with the intent to destroy you. Your guard Kaede seems to have detected them already but she has yet to take action because of their proximity"

"I have to go back outside" the boy stated. "If Fate is out there then I have to be with them"

"No… I do not sense Fate to be among them. I only sense his followers and a few hundred golems and………"

The moment Negi felt the other presence, his eyes widened as he immediately knew who it belonged to. The only girl who had such fire in her heart…

"Asuna san…" he spoke out her name with joy. "She's here. Asuna san!" the boy then turned to his keeper. "Siegfried san, I have to go"

He nodded in return. "I understand. Your body also has recovered" a second later, a portal appeared hinting to Negi that, that was the way out of his mind. "Pease tread your life with care master. I do wish to speak with you again"

"Yes I promise. Thank you for everything Siegfried san"

"You're very welcome and take care…" and with their farewells said, Negi made a mad dash towards the portal and before he knew it, he was gone. "Take care… my son…"

**(Outside Negi's mindscape)**

The moment Negi was able to open his eyes he immediately noted the presence of his comrades forming a defensive circle around the magic portal that he made a few minutes ago. "Kaede san, Kotaro kun, Chachamaru…"

"Negi sensei…"

"Hey squirt" the wolf boy smirked. "You woke up at a good time. We were just about to start the party without you" he had already activated his Pactio card which gave him extra power to take on his enemies.

"Keep your guard up" Theo barked. "There are at least four of them surrounding us and some golems behind them"

"They must be using the fog to cover their tracks, the wind to cover their smell and the wind to cover their sounds" Kaede analyzed. "That must be how they are able to get so close without my senses detecting them"

"Is it Fate?" Kotaro asked, thinking that it might be a good time to test his full strength. "We'll be pretty lucky to take down the head hancho himself before the last battle even begins"

"No" Chachamaru answered. "My readings do not detect Fate's presence among them. But I do believe that the ones here are likely to be his pactio partners"

"Heh… well too bad. But either way, if we can take them down then we'll at least weaken his ranks" but sadly the boy's senses could not see or smell very well due to the weather interference. "Damn. If only I could get rid of this fog. I would've pounded those guys by now"

"Let me take care of that" Negi declared waving his staff upward. "Kules nacro veilas!" with a strong pound to the ground a strong gush of wind blew through, wiping the fog away as if a vacuum cleaner sucked them all away to nowhere. It wasn't long then until the remaining soldiers of Fate appeared. Homura, Koyomi and Tamaki.

"Ahh… it appears our surprise attack strategy has failed" Homura the violinist stated calmly as Kotaro glared at her. "It appears you and I meet once again… and I see that you've made yourself a pactio card. What powers do you hold this time dog breath?"

"Dunno" the wolf boy smirked. "Haven't had a chance to test this baby out yet. All I know that it protects me but doesn't restrict my movements"

The girl let out a grin. "Then allow me to give you a beat to start off…" Kotaro braced himself for the attack, but just before Homura could even bring out fiery hair, Negi swooped into the fray and fired a magic arrow at her causing the girl to dodge away. "Hmph!"

"Don't let them close everyone!" Negi barked. "They're target isn't us but the portal. If they hit that it'll take us a whole day to find another suitable location" upon realization of their objectives, the group quickly got into combat stance and prepared to engage the many golems approaching their area.

"Tch… the kid saw through our plans with just a blink of an eye" Koyomi, the cat girl groaned. "Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way. Golem army, attack!" she ordered her vast army to quickly climb up the mountain slopes and onto the open ground where the magic circle was laid out.

WHAM!!!

Theo summoned out a magic bolt from her hand and in an instant, she destroyed six of the golems. "Not this time kiddo. You may have gotten the jump on me the last time we met with that alternate dimension of yours but this time there are no more tricks"

"Grr… bring it on princess! I'll take you on!" she challenged on with a wave of her hand. "Golem army, charge!!!"

With Theo gone and Negi and Kotaro busy, Kaede soon found herself facing against Tamaki, the demon-girl who she knew was not one to underestimate. "We meet again ninja" she spoke out coldly as before.

"Good to see you too Tamaki chan" Kaede returned the bowing gesture. "I can tell from your poise that you've grown stronger these past few days. Did you go through some special training or something degozaru?"

"You could say that" she returned a smirk. "After our last encounter at Heaven's Hill, I thought that it would be best to be able to at least be at odds with one of Negi's Knights"

"Ahh yeah… but our previous battle ended without a victor due to the sudden emergency" Kaede recalled the last fight she had with the girl. "But now it looks like we can finally settle our score with one match"

"I wouldn't have it any other way" the demoness then quickly pulled out her arms and slowly began casting a spell. A magic circle then appeared around her, which Kaede could easily identify as a protective shield of some sort to protect her from physical attacks. "Prepare yourself. I shall hold nothing back"

**(The White Citadel) (Throne room)**

"Fate saaaannnnn!!!!" that was the whining sound of a certain Tsukuyomi who sat by the throne room with at least a thousand golems and Fate who stood patiently at the center of the room. He was working on some sort of magical incantation of some sorts, using several hundred thousand talismans and a few hundred machineries from the fortress's limitless supply of gadgets and gizmos. "Fate sannnn…"

"What is it Tsukuyomi?" he asked calmly at the girl's whining. "If you are bored, you can walk around and stretch your legs you know"

"I don't wanna" she groaned. "How come I have to stay here watching you do magic while everyone's off fighting boohhoooo!" she cried in a comical way. "I wanna kill someone! I wanna spill blood all over the place and then take a nice hot bath boo hoo!"

"Didn't you already satiate your hunger killing the demons?"

"Those horny guys were no fun at all. Not as much fun as playing with sempai" she grinned widely with a drool coming down her mouth thinking of how nice it would be to clash swords with Setsuna. "The way she turns me on is jus so… enjoying. She makes me hot all over and wet in places I didn't know I had hmmm…"

"Ah yes… the hanyo partner of Negi" Fate recognizes the description. "But if I recall, you lost against her in your previous encounter, did you not?"

The girl visibly widened her smile and nodded happily like she didn't have a care in the world. "That's right. The way she disarmed me with grace and the moment she felt my life hanging at the palm of her hand… ahh… it felt like I was in paradise" she then began rubbing her arms and licking her fingers making all sorts of sickening moans through her mouth. It was as if she was trying to make love to herself or something. "And that time when she pinned me down to the ground and our bodies touched…… I really want to experience it all over again…"

"Your sadistic nature is really something Tsukuyomi" Fate complimented. "But remember that I placed you here for a reason. While the others are busy delaying Negi, you must remain here in case the enemy should attack. Though I highly doubt that they would strike the fortress without the Thousand Master or the prodigy boy, it would be best that I do not take any chances" he then resumed by placing another magic circle over another, and then casting a small incantation around him.

As the last remaining member of the Cosmo Entelecheia continued, the ronin warrior soon wondered what the boy was doing. From a distance she only see that he was making layers upon layers of magic circles and at least a thousand kinds of spells from a giant book that he found in the fortress library.

"Hey Fate san…"

"Yes Tsukuyomi…"

"Do you think it was a good idea to send 'her' along with the rest? I mean… you're taking a really big risk by just sending everyone off to fight. Do you think they even stand a chance against the bozu's old man?"

"The chance of them winning against the Ala Rubra and Nagi Springfield is an impossible feat. But even without the Thousand Master… Negi alone would be able to drive them off with his eyes folded"

"So why did you send them?"

"To keep him there" he answered. "With the power and skill that he has accumulated in the short span of time I will need to use every strategy in my experience to best him and defeat him"

"But do you think you're strong enough to beat both Negi and Nagi?" the warrior asked finally, making the boy stop on his chanting. "I mean…… you and I both know what Negi is capable of and I'm pretty sure that his dad is about equal or better than you. There's no way you can take them on at the same time"

A very still and discomforting silence came by as Fate looked at the warrior who spoke up. Even though he was powerful a demigod, he had to admit that his underling was right. Nagi was powerful and his son alone was probably good enough to take him down if fought to a corner… and if he should ever meet them in a two on one fight then there was little chance that he would be able to stand up against such odds. Negi had the brain for one million terabyte of super computers and his father had the power of near god like strength. If those two worked together, nothing… not even the whole might of the Ostian-Hellas coalition force would be able to match their strength.

"You are correct" he said finally. "If I should face both of them… I would certainly lose. Even I wouldn't dare face against two of them at the same time. But do not worry. I have already made plans for the Ala Rubra. They will be of no hindrance to my plans" he then resumed casting his magic and remained silent, leaving Tsukuyomi bored to sleep.

"Bahh…" she whined as she fell on her back. "I wonder what sempai is doing right now?"

**(With Nagi's team)**

"HAAA!!!!"

Smash, pow!

That was the sound of Setsuna smacking one golem with her sword's hilt and pounding another with her fist. Right when the golem army started charging, she and Ku Fei had been fighting none stop, cutting through the enemy lines and breaking more than a hundred enemy golems in just ten or so minutes. Takahata and the rest of the Ala Rubra were also fighting but it seemed like the battle here felt like nothing more but child's play to them.

"That's another one" she stated through pants of breaths. After awhile she suddenly noticed several arrows flying towards her. With a quick brush of her katanas she deflected them all and quickly fall back to Eishun's side. "Eishun sama, they're attacking us relentlessly. This must be some kind of distraction"

"Yeah I think so too" the sword master agreed while cutting through another dozen of the enemy soldiers. "There isn't a single trace of skill or strategy. It feels like they just want to keep us here while they continue on their real objective"

"Do you think that Negi and the others are fighting as well?" the man simply did not know since he was still busy fighting. But then to their surprise, Ku Fei came in sight and began smashing through a column of the golem's formation. With a single press of her palm and a quick motion of her leg and body, she pounded down at least twenty giants like a breeze through the wind. "Ku Fei dono?" Setsuna called out.

"Hey there aru. Sorry, can't talk right now. Meat buns are on the line here!" she shouted out, earning herself a questioning brow from both swordsmen. "Let's see now… 167, 168… 178! Hey Jackie, I'm almost at 200!" she waved at the legendary mercenary who was busy beating the living daylights out of one of the giant golems that was shaped like a lion. "Ah!?"

"Hang on a second will ya?" the man shouted back before using his bare arms to rip the upper jaws of the mechanized creature and using it to stab its own body and ripping it again just for the heck of it. "Hehehehe… nothing beats taking down a monster before dinner"

"Hey there Jackie!"

"So how many you got there miss?" Rakan asked the kung fu master. "Whoa… that's quite a number you've done. Looks like you managed to beat Al… he's still down his first hundred. Looks like you're gonna take his share of pork buns (Yay!) But Takahata still has the lead with 400 right now"

Ku Fei then made a comical shock expression. "Ahh! I have to work harder then! I can't let him take all our food!"

"These guys… are betting… with pork buns?" Setsuna said unbelieving that these men were actually the most respectable warriors in the entire magic world. It wasn't long then till she saw another fifty replacing the ones that Ku Fei just obliterated. "There are more of them coming!" but with a blink of an eye, they were wiped out by a strange beam that was shot from the sky. "What the…? Takahata sensei?"

The teacher who took charge of that attack smirked for a moment before noticing a giant golem standing behind him. "Oh boy… and I thought I saw the last of giant robots back in the school festival" he muttered out before teleporting a short distance away and with a blink of his eyes, the giant creature was smashed down with an invisible force like a magic hammer that came out of nowhere and pounded it repeatedly on the ground.

The giant tried to get back up again but its attempt were only snuffed out when Takimichi laid a few more volley on its stomach. "Why don't you just stay down?"

"Oh my god… its Takahata sensei's 'Death Specs'!" Ku Fei shrieked.

Even Setsuna herself was shocked beyond belief. "T… Takahata sensei…?"

"Oi oi oi!" Rakan called out. "That still counts as one!" he quickly pulled out his GREAT SWORD (AKA: Battleship Buster) and threw it to a large portion of the enemy. "Booya! Strike!"

**(Chisame and Akira's team)**

"Wahhh!!" the scream of Yuuna echoed as she fell on her back after taking a blow from Shirabe's magical (terrible) melody. The fight with the sound mage was long and dangerous and fighting her along with two powerful golems were even harder.

"Yuuna!" Chisame barked. "Damn… this isn't good. She's a lot stronger than the last time we saw her and those golems are gonna be a problem too. With those two, she has a near impassable shield and while they protect her, she's free to cast whatever magic she wants from behind. It's a basic shield-arrow tactic"

Bang!

Another blow landed in on the group causing the team to disperse. The one that Shirabe called Beethoven was a man (with Beethoven's face) who used a giant cello as a shield and its arm looked like a bow (the one used to play string instruments) to use as a whacking tool for naughty children. It made easy work for it to go around as a tanker but as an offensive unit, it was limited to only smashing.

"Yuuna chan!" Madoka yelled in fright of her friend. "Hold on I'm coming!" she tried to run towards the girl in trouble but was quickly blocked by another one of Shirabe's golems. The one she called Rhapsody looked like a man with a melodica on its mouth. With each note that it blows, it would make a physical bubble of that tone and explode upon contact. Its arms too were also made to look like bows to whack the life out of the students.

"Madoka!" Akira noticing her friends in peril quickly leaped in and with her surprisingly strong arms she pounded Rhapsody to the wall.

"Akira san!"

"Don't worry about me. Get Yuuna hurry!" she ordered. "I'll hold this one!" the golem then rose again looking a bit irritated. "Bring it on! By the time I'm done with you, you'll be singing a whole new tune for your medical bill! (GRAHHH!!!) Haaaaa!!!" but it wasn't long until Shirabe decided to enter the battle.

"Your battle rhythm is impressive" the violinist stated. "But you rely too much on your physical strength and speed which leaves you open" but before she could pull a string, Zazie threw out several cards at her causing her to dodge away. "Tch… you are quick gypsy. To be able to grasp by intentions before putting it to action is a feat worthy of my time. You must possess great skill"

But as always, Zazie remained silent, calm and composed. To most people they would find her mute words something of a strange thing, but to Shirabe it looked more like a dedication which she seems to admire.

"I see… so you too know how to express yourself using your chi. I guess you and I are alike"

Silence…

"Oh please, you flatter me with your praises. We both have the same gift"

More silence…

"Oh do you now? How nice of you. Yes, you are correct, this is a baroque violin. Commonly used in orchestras and other performances. I've had this for many years now and I had it repaired and maintained constantly. Of course, someone of your caliber should be able to understand"

Again… Zazie remained silent but her head suddenly began to move and nod in response to her words.

"What of you? Do you have any instruments in which you express yourself?"

Zazie tilted her head sideways for a moment as if thinking before nodding again.

"Ah a wonderful one. One that we all have but not one that can be used by anyone. Very impressive. Ahahahaha"

On the corner of the room, Chisame and the rest of her team looked at the two entertainers with a shocked expression. "She… she's talking… she's talking with Zazie"

"Yes… I too… am bewildered" Cocone nodded with her eyebrows slightly raised in confusion.

**(Negi's team)**

Ratatatatatatata…!

Chachamaru let out a barrage of bullets off her machine gun arm as the golem army came charging at her. With everyone fighting off against the other mages, she remained behind to hold the portal ground so that at least they would have an escape route to move to. As more and more golems came in from the cliff side, she continued to volley at them, not even letting the golems get a single foothold on the ground.

"Activating sonic beam" she stated. "30 percent capacity. Complete activation in twenty seconds" another golem came to her but she simply destroyed it with her blade arms. "60 percent capacity. 10.00006 seconds upon complete activation" suddenly four golems roared into the fray, causing her to switch to her cannon mode. When the beasts got close enough they were immediately blasted into smithereens, never to be seen again by the naked eye. "Charge complete"

When fifty of the golems finally got into a formation, they were suddenly pushed off the mountain with Chachamaru's eye beam which took a small portion of the ground she was standing on. "Slight miscalculation. Readjusting functions" she finished off before suddenly feeling a presence in the circle. She turned around to face her new opponent but suddenly stopped her hands in shock. "Wait…… you're…"

Smash…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Theo's side, she was battling Koyomi exchanging magic attacks one after the other. But seeing that the princess was better in the art of magic and combat the cat-mage decided that it would be wise to bring along some of her small-fry golems to act as her shield. "You can run all you want and send as many of your cheap golems at me, but the results will still be the same! You can't defeat me with just plain defense-offense!"

"Grr… then how about this!" Koyomi then hit a small side of the mountain causing a snow avalanche to fall on Theo. "Haha! Gotcha!" usually by now the cat mage would've turned around and help her allies against the many opponents that Negi got with him, but seeing that this was the princess of the mighty kingdom of Hellas, it paid to make sure that her first opponent was down for the count. After Theo was taken down to a small patch of flat land, Koyomi followed suit along with a few dozen golems by her side. "Is she dead?" she asked around to no one in particular. "You three, go check it out" the three golems that she commanded followed her orders and began searching through the snow.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Negi's side, the young mage and the wolf boy were having a difficult time holding against Homura. With the legion of golems on her side she practically had them tied down. "Detra emittram!" Negi cried out and launched a huge spear onto the battlefield, taking out an entire column of opponents. "Magea Erabia, houken!" he then punched several other units off the ground and breaking the enemy formation with a single blow.

"Oi oi, Negi, leave some for me" Kotaro grinned at his pactio master. "Don't go taking all the fun yourself" but Negi did not respond, he simply turned his head around searching for the fire mage before charging at her.

"Tch. Golem, wedge formation!" Homura ordered in which the machines quickly obeyed. But even their swords, spears and shields, they were unable to stop the might of that which was Negi Springfield. "Damn, I guess 'she' was right. Normal golems are useless against him. (to the golems) Archers, fire!" ten archer golems appeared with bows in hand and let loose their arrows against the teacher. But Negi dodged them and with a quick spell cast, he burned those soldiers and a few dozen more to ashes. "What the?"

"Fires that consume all life and air, I summon thee to my presence. Burn my enemies with your soul and leave only their ashes in your wake!" immediately, Negi was soon engulfed with a powerful gush of fire, and those who tried to touch him were soon blown aside, torched as if put in the very center of the volcano.

"_What the…?"_ the fire mage trembled at the very sight of the boy's power. _"He was able to cast such a powerful spell at such a short time? That power was already even greater than mine and I can barely…" _she was quickly caught off her thoughts when she felt a hand tighten around the collar of her cape. To her surprise, it was Negi who came. "Hnnn!?"

"Where is she?" the boy demanded with eyes burning as red as the fire around him. "I can sense her here. Where is she!? Where is Asuna!? **TELL ME NOW!!!** If you harm a single hair on her head I swear I will rip your heart out!!" for a brief moment, a tiny moment, Homura felt fear run through every part of her vein. A surge of power rushed at the boy's fingertips, his voice pierced her mind and not even a single word escaped her ears.

But then… Negi's eyes suddenly widened when he noticed that Homura was grinning at him. "Oh… you mean your little princess?" she stated still terrified of the boy. "Perhaps you should be worrying about doing that yourself"

"What…?" and just then, right at that very moment, Negi sensed Asuna's presence behind him. A wave of gleeful feeling reached his heart as the thought of seeing her again.

But what he saw then… was Asuna stabbing the magic teleportation circle with hinten no tsurugi and carrying a damaged Chachamaru on her arm.


	11. The Broken Hearted Princess

**Chapter 11: The Journey to Mt. Kael (Part 4: The Broken Hearted Princess)**

**(The Great Paru Sama)**

The skies of Mt. Kael.

A peaceful place full of clouds and stars at this night of all nights, a place where birds roam freely and the wind pass on without any hindrance. It was a place where poets from different corners of the world sought to be an inspiration and nobles to find it a perfect place to court their beloved. There… not a sound could be heard not a whisper spoken. It was so quiet… that even yoga masters would find it to be their enlightening ground.

But of course… that changed when a single ship lingered in the air.

"Get off my ship!!!!!!!!!"

Bang!!!

Haruna yelled to the top of her lunges as she armed the weapons of the ship at the enemies that appeared on her ship. With one shot from her rear cannons she was able to wipe out a dozen of enemy flyers that were lingering nearby. "Ha take that!" she gloated. "You guys think you can sneak aboard by ship and get away with it? Then think again! This ship has be equipped with the latest security technology of the magic world! Retinal scans, fingerprint scans, voice scans and even 'cup' size scan! (some of them aren't even in stores yet!) Mwahahahahaha!" even though she was outnumbered on the bridge, the girl was able to summon reinforcements with her pactio and create a small army of knights to fight for her.

"Paru!" came a voice from the com channel. "Paru, are you there!?" it was Ayaka who was speaking.

The artist picked up the radio and channeled in. "Oh class rep, how are ya? Everything alright down there?" she asked in a joking tone. "I hear a lot of sounds going on"

"We're just about done over here" she replied. "Yue and the rest are off to clear the hallway while we hold up here in the meeting room. Kazumi and Ako are already clearing the other rooms as well. Where's Mana? Isn't she supposed to be on guard? We could really use her help"

Haruna then turned her head over to the security monitor viewing the outside platform of the ship. It was there that she saw the said markswoman dueling off with Shiori and her two powerful golems. "Oh I think she has her own problems to worry about. You guys are gonna have to make due with what you have. Try to clear as many of them as possible and hold that area. (sigh) If I'm right, Negi and the others might be in the same situation as we are"

"What about Chisame, Setsuna and the rest of the ground team?"

"I can't reach them either" she answered. "They must either be fighting or too busy to help out. But don't worry. As for Negi, well I think there's no need to worry about him. This is Negi we're talking about here. The kid that can take down an army and even a fleet of battleships with one hand tied behind his back (literally) I'm sure he's ok. He's probably just trying his best to look for that bird"

**(Negi's team)**

"Asuna……?" the name of the girl flipped out of Negi's mouth as he saw her stabbing the magic circle with her blade. After the deed was done and the magic gone, the princess of Ostia stood up and turned to the boy prodigy. On her left hand, was a badly wounded Chachamaru whose arms were cut off and body nearly ripped in half. It was obvious as the stars in the sky that Asuna was responsible for her damage and made no attempt of hiding it either.

"Negi… s…ensei…" the android coughed out through static. "I'm sorry…" afterward the princess dropped her on the ground and frowned at the mage before her.

The sight of one of his students in mortal wounds terrified Negi. "Chachamaru!!!!" so without even thinking, he dashed right in faster than the speed of a living bullet leaving Hormua to escape from his previous grasp. But before he could even reach her, Asuna took a slash at him, missing his face just by a few inches. "Aghh!! Asuna san?" but the girl he spoke of remained silent. Instead, she answered back by taking another slash at him, this time, a lot closer to his neck.

"Negi look out! (Aniki!)" Kotaro and Chamo yelled in shock. But then suddenly a great flame blocked their path, preventing them from aiding the mage boy. "What the? Damn it!"

Homura then appeared with a grin on her face. "Now now… I believe your fight is with me little pup. We wouldn't want you interfering with our plans"

"Tch… then bring it on!" the wolf boy accepted the challenge. "I took you lot down before and I can do it again"

"A… Asuna san, what's gotten into…" the girl did not even give him a chance to finish before letting out a flurry of attacks at him. With the boy's reflexes, he pulled out his staff and made a defensive barrier around himself only to remember that no magic can hold against her. His shield barrier shattered and before he knew it he was forced to defend himself using only his arms and staff. "Asuna, stop this!"

"Haaaaa!!" Asuna then took a slash and slammed her sword's hilt against the boy's stomach.

"Gaaa…… darn it. Capture cube!" Negi cast out a magic, but like always, it made no affect on the girl. "No…" seeing that there was no way to avoid the blow, he crossed his arms in front of his body and allowed the sword to make contact, sending him halfway towards the edge of the cliff. "Damn it…… none of my magic works"

"Aniki!" Chamo called out. "That sword she's using is your pactio. It transfer magic through you and powers it up. You can cancel it!"

"Oh that's right!" Negi quickly remembered that the hiten no tsurugi that Asuna used came from the pactio card she used from his magic. So with a little concentration and a little focus, the sword was gone. "Good… without it, she can't…"

WHAM!

Asuna's fist lodged against his face, pounding him to the ground. The sound of his cracking jaw was so sickening that even Kaede felt it from a distance.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Huh?" the kunoichi quickly halted her battle with the demon girl and turned to the sound but due to the thick fog, enveloping the area she could not make out of the battle. "What was that strange aura just now?" her senses were then taken away when Tamaki fired a magic bolt onto her area, creating a small explosion.

"Distraction does not become of you ninja" she stated hovering over the battlefield. "Pay attention to your opponent"

"_Damn… it looks like I fell right into her trap"_ Nagase turned to her with a serious face. _"That speech just now was just to drag me out far off the battlefield so that I wouldn't be able to help Negi bozu. And the golem forces are just a distraction to keep us busy. Looks like both of us are on our own for now, Negi bozu"_ and with that she quickly resumed the fight, throwing several kunais and shurikens at her enemy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Negi!" Kotaro yelled in shock. He wanted to help the boy get back on his feet but with a hundred golems and an annoying mage on his side of the field it became difficult just to move around without getting sliced, hammered, burned or smashed to minced meat.

Homura noticed the wolf boy's distraction and quickly exploited it casting her fiery hair onto him. "You're not focused, puppy!" with a single blow, Kotaro was engulfed in flame and it was so strong that even Chamo had to jump off him to save himself from becoming a grilled ermine. "Hehehe… that was simply just too easy" Homura smirked proudly, knowing that she just eliminated one of Negi's most powerful soldiers. But her sense of victory was doused rather quickly when Kotaro emerged from the fires barely even scathed. "What the!? How in the world!? That heat I put on you should've been enough to melt the North Pole in just seconds! How could you have withstand it without even taking a scratch (or a burn mark!)!?"

The boy simply looked at her and grinned. "I don't really know all the details" he answered. "But from what I can tell right now. This armor I'm wearing nullifies all sorts of magic attacks against me. I'm not sure if it has a limit… but I can feel like this baby is kinda like my third skin. (Tch!) Looks like you're out of time… and tricks…" and with a single gesture, he rushed in towards the girl with his claws unleashed. "Take this!!"

Slash!

Clang!!

"Please… don't tell me you'd think I'd come at you unprepared for such a feature?" Homura taunted as Kotaro's fist came into contact with two golems. "If magic can't hurt you then I guess I'll just have to crack your skull the old fashion way. But first allow me to introduce to you my two friends. Meet Ifrit and Firaga. Golems purposely made for naughty brats like you!"

The one named Ifrit had the features of a demon on fire with horns and giant teeth and everything. (Imagine Final Fantasy Ifrit) It's primary weapons were the fire javelins on its back and its fists which were covered in flames as well.

Firaga looked like more of a ball of fire with a face on its center. It didn't take a genius to tell that it works as a weapon for Ifrit who could use it as a bowling ball.

"Oh this looks like it's gonna hurt" and before Kotaro knew it, he was pounded on his face and down right to the ground his face kissing the dirt in the process. "Oww… I never thought I would wish I was wrong"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Theo's side, Koyomi's golems were still searching the landslide that trapped the princess. The cat girl kept a safe distance away from the wreckage as she knew that victory was still far from certain and a simple snow slide wouldn't be enough to hold one of Negi's allies, especially her of all people. She knew that Theodora was a person who could not be underestimated but with a little luck and some planning and a little help from a small fearless army, she could turn the tide of battle to her favor.

After two or three minutes of waiting, Koyomi's patience finally paid off. When the golems tapped onto what looked like the princess's robes, an explosion soon caught them, ripping their bodies apart. The cat mage smirked and could easily tell that the princess intended on making her cloth look like easy picking and set up a trap for her. "Nice try princess, but setting up traps is so beneath you" there was no reply from the said girl, but this only made Koyomi even more suspicious. "Huh?" it wasn't long then until she noticed several trickles of blood mixed in with the snow. "Blood? She must be wounded. (to the golems) Fan out! She couldn't have gone too far! Search at least ten kilometers from here and report back!"

With a flick of her finger, the golems quickly march out to find Theo, but little did they know that she was simply hiding behind a small crater a few blocks from the cat mage. _"Damn… I got overconfident on that girl. She was lucky enough to score a hit on me without even noticing. Damn it, this is embarrassing" _she grumbled before clutching the small cut on her left shoulder. _"There's too many for me to handle alone. I have to regroup with Negi and the others. With our strength spread too thin, it diminishes us of our fighting capability. And I fell right for their trap. Huh?"_

But just as she was thinking of a way to escape, she noticed one of Koyomi's flying golems hovering near her crater. "Kwaaa!" before it could signal its master of the princess's location; Theo fired a magic bolt at it, wiping it out from the face of the earth.

"_Crap! What the hell was I thinking!?"_ she yelled in her head the moment she fired. With the explosion of that golem, it soon drew attention from the cat mage and the other golems to her location. Knowing that she was outnumbered and outgunned for the moment, Theo made a break for it towards Negi's location hoping to find the boy mage and get some backup. But as things couldn't get any worst for her, a battleship under Fate's banner soon appeared out of the clouds, with weapons armed and ready. _"A battleship!?"_

"Mwahahaha!" Koyomi laughed. "You can't escape now this time princess! With this kind of firepower, not even you can be able to match against it!!"

"This is not good"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ughh…" Negi groaned as he stood up from the ground with one of his cheek swollen as a melon. He knew that Asuna had a powerful kick but he never knew that her fist hurt as much as a bowling ball. With his body still aching from the impact, he was soon able to get a good look at the girl who punched him just a few meters away. Though she may have changed her hair, her clothes and her eyes, Negi could never her. That fiery aura around her, her indomitable soul and of course… her powerful hits which the boy remembers well through his body.

But thinking that she was powerless without her weapon was not what Negi would think first. Even without a tool in her hand, Asuna alone can stand out as a human weapon itself. And he thought right, for the moment the mage prodigy stood up, Asuna let out a flurry of blows at him which he was able to block rather easily.

"Asuna wake up!" Negi yelled out hoping that his words would be able to reach her, still thinking that somehow Fate had managed to find a way to hypnotize her. But the girl did not respond. She simply laid another kick which he blocked it again. _"Damn… I can't seem to be getting to her" Negi thought. "I have to knock her out quickly and get Chachamaru back to the ship"_ having fighting over many arguments in his head, Negi quickly sorted them out and prioritized every situation in order.

First he would knock out Asuna, then he would call Haruna for an emergency pickup for Chachamaru, afterwards he would unleash all of his powers against the golem army and finally they will return to the base. With the princess of twilight with them, Fate with have nothing to bargain for and it would put him in an extremely tight situation.

So without another second of thought, the boy rushed in to find a quick way of ending the fight without hurting Asuna too much. With the restriction of no magic, the boy had to move to the use of his fists and his staff and short sword. "Haaa!!" He hoped that his combat training with the finest masters of the magic world and his experience with life to death situations would be enough to turn the tide.

"That's it aniki!" Chamo cheered from the sidelines and by some mysterious force behind the world, he was dressed in some sort of cheerleading uniform like those in Mahora academy with pompoms included. "Keep it up! Asuna chan maybe tough but you're way stronger than her! You can take her!"

After constant blocking and counter attacks, Negi soon found himself to be at odd. _"That's strange. Asuna's combat stance constantly changes from one to another. First karate, then kung fu then tekwando and then mindless brawl. It's hard to predict her moves but I can still counter it. I only need to wear her down a bit and leave her expose just for one second" _and with luck, a weakness did reveal itself right next to the girl's neck. _"There it is!"_ with speed as fast as a mantis, Negi struck, but to his surprise, Asuna was able to block it and with a simple twist she thrust her hand onto his chest and cast some sort of spell.

"Gloreca…" immediately a thrust of light burst through Negi's body, wounding him like he was shot by a shotgun stun bullet at point blank range.

Blood splattered out of his throat with much surprise, _"What the? A physical-magic attack? But how did she…" _but Asuna did not stop there. With the momentum at her side, she followed her attack with an elbow onto his head sending his face to meet her knee. The blow was devastating and still she did not stop. When Negi was still recovering from the attack, Asuna rained punches and kicks onto him, hitting him in every possible area with no signs of backing down. "Gahh!"

It wasn't long then until Negi was finally pushed into a corner of the field… literally. With a wall behind his back and his body full of bruises, Asuna made a surprising move by grabbing onto his neck and lifting him about three feet off the floor. The boy choked and his arms limped with pain. But then to his surprise, Asuna suddenly sprawled a Katar from her fist and punched in.

Summoning the last of his strength to do battle, Negi grab the tip of the blade with his hands and tried to push it towards another direction. "Asuna san! Please listen to me!" he yelled out. "Please, understand what you are doing! This isn't you!"

"Tch…" she bit her lip to prevent herself from speaking.

"Don't you remember me!? It's me Negi! Your teacher from Mahora academy! Your friend!" again the girl simply looked away as if in slight pain. "Please Asuna, I can help you! Let me help you!"

"_Help…?"_ Asuna humored the thought. "Negi…" she spoke out.

"That's right. You remember" the child teacher nodded with glee. "Don't you remember? We were partners back in school. I live with you and we fought together in Kyoto. Remember Chao, your classmate, everyone?"

But his words simply angered the girl even more. Of course Asuna was able to remember them. Hell she practically lived through them and survived countless times. But those memories… of the past… now meant nothing to her. That life that she had when she was a preschool student was nothing more but a memory she just wish she could forget.

"Asuna san, please. You can fight it!"

"Shut THE HELL UP!!" with her adrenaline and anger at its peak, Asuna tackled away the boy's hands and thrust her katar at him. Luckily for Negi it only managed to hit his shoulder, piercing through his tough skin and bone.

"ARGHHH!!"

His painful scream was so loud and so demonic that it alerted an unwanted presence in the mountains. A being so powerful that it shakes the earth itself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kaede, with her ears as sharp as a cat itself in the middle of Mt. Fuji, was the first to hear the scream. She seldom hears that scream but whenever she hears it, her heart would race up and she knew that Negi was in trouble. "Negi?"

"Don't let a sound distract you!" Tamaki fired off her magic bolts at the ninja, but then to her surprise, Kaede quickly dodge away and with the speed of an eagle she rushed off towards the source of the sound.

"Hold on Negi! I'm coming!!!!" Nagase had never felt this terrified before in her life. With the thought of losing her teacher again, her rage mode suddenly kicked in, giving her powers beyond her understanding. Any golem or monster that got in her way would quickly be thrashed to bits before she even knew it existed. Within a split second, she would cut a golem in half and move on like nothing else mattered. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!"

Even the demon girl Tamaki was frightened by her actions and thought that it would be best that she retreated for now. With that ninja's speed there was no way she could possibly keep up. "Well… it looks like my work here is done" she picked up her pactio card and placed it on her head. "Koyomi, I'm done here. I'll meet you back at the Jormungande" and with a flash… she disappeared.

**(Great Paru Sama) (Outer deck)**

Mana was having the time of her life… literally. After the alarm was sounded, it wasn't long then until she was pitched in combat against Shiori and her golems atop the ship's outer deck. There were plenty of covers for her to use and luckily for her she was able to bring out at least half of her weapons from Haruna.

She blasted several aerial golems from the starboard bow and another twenty of them that were trying to board. As bullets poured out from her P90, Shiori's golem, Geisha, soon appeared and began to attack her with her long ponytails. Mana was certain that her hair alone are only used to capture the target or perhaps smash her into submission and her main weapons were her teeth which looked sharp enough to bite through the ship's hull.

"Tch…" the markswoman fired her gun at it but they simply bounced off harmless from its skin. "Titanium plated armor……" she stated before withdrawing to a more defensible position near an air-conditioner heater. "My bullets won't be able to penetrate its skin, but its head should be vulnerable to attacks" she thought before pulling out a smoke bomb and a teleportation talisman from her pocket.

"There is no use hiding Tatsumiya chan…" Shiori cooed. "No matter what you do or what you try, you cannot hope to defeat me with such petty magic. Surrender and I'll let your death be a swift one"

Noticing Geisha moving in for the attack, Mana quickly smash the smoke bomb onto the ground, creating a smoke wall around her. But Shiori did not falter and quickly ordered her small fry golems to attack. But right when her guard was down, she noticed a small light flickering at the side of the main bulk door. "A teleportation magic?"

"Each of these cost 900,000 yen each. 500,000 Drachmas here in the magic world, but you're worth it" and with an opening, she fired a whole clip of her gun. But then her eyes suddenly widened when Mirage, the mirror golem appeared before her, catching the bullets with its mirror-like stomach. "What the?" Mana looked at the thing puzzled but then upon realization, the bullets she fired suddenly began coming back to her direction. "Hnn!" she dodged them and quickly reloaded.

"Very impressive" Shiori complimented. "Using the smoke screen to guise your teleportation magic and attacking from my blind spot. But you forget. I have a near impenetrable shield that not even your teacher boy can penetrate without difficulty" suddenly an explosion occurred near the bridge of the ship, catching their attention. "And it looks like my army is making quick work of your friends too. I guess Fate sama was right. Without your teacher, you lot are nothing more but a piece of trash not even worth stepping on"

"Tch…" Mana groaned before firing her guns at Mirage again. And just like before, the bullets simply flew back to her direction. Afterwards she tried a grenade hoping that the blast would be big enough break it, but to her distress the bomb casually returned to her side blowing her cover. With her ammo slowly running thin and covers becoming scarce, she began to think of a way to fight back without getting hurt herself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Eghh… that was not good" Haruna coughed out the smoke from her lunges as she got up from the blast. "Maybe Nodoka was right. I should've installed that sprinkler system" as the knights she drew got back up, they noticed that the golem army soon poured in from the entrance. "Ahh man! What's a girl gotta do to get a break around here!?" cornered at her very own ship, Paru hastily jumped through the broken windshield to escape. The glass cut through her robes but right now she ignored her damaged robes because if she wasn't focused now then she'd be in real trouble.

But of course that was a mistake as she noted that there were hundred of flying golems hovering around her ship. "Oh you've got to be kidding me" with great haste of a speed of 6 seconds, she drew out a human size version of a Gundam mobilesuit armor (with a Chamo head piece) and quickly put it on herself. "Alright puny! Let's dance!"

With a push of a button she flew out into the sky and began battling the golem aerial forces that kept flying around, cutting through the ship's hull. "Take this! The Paru missile!" a volley of missiles launched from her back and destroyed nearly thirty of the enemy. But like an ant army from an ant hill, those that were killed were easily replaced by another bunch. "Great… there's no end to them!"

"Paru!" came a voice from her badge. "Hey Paru, are you there?"

"Kazumi?" she questioned. "Kazumi, is that you? What's the matter?"

"Nothing much. We just cleared out some of the enemy inside. We're trying to make our way to the weapon's room but they barricaded themselves inside. It might take us awhile to get through"

"Alright I'll try and slow the others down but you'd better hurry. I don't think that this is all they brought along with them"

**(The caves)**

Chisame and Akira and the rest of their teams were holding out pretty badly if I would say so myself. After just a few attacks from Shiori and her personal bodyguard, the two teams were forced back to the entrance which was nearly impossible for them to use their powers effectively. "Spread out!" Chisame ordered. "Don't close in together. They'll surround us if we tighten like this!"

But of course that really wasn't much of a choice since Rhapsody and Beethoven were onto them. Misora tried to fend them off using her simple magic spells but of course, basic spells were no match for high level creatures such as these. "It's a lot harder than it sounds Chisame! We have to retreat, we don't stand a chance against these guys. They're as tough as a mountain!" even Zazie was having a hard time against Shirabe who continued to plow the walls of the cave with her shockwave sound.

"Hnnn!!" the golem Beethoven sneered before using his bow to smash the girls. But to its surprise, Akira was able to block that blow using only her arms. "Hmmm!!?"

"It's gonna take a lot more than that to take me down!" she smirked. "Makie, now!" the gymnast expert quickly leaped in and used her ribbon (pactio) to tie the golem up like a mummy.

"Yosh! Madoka, it's up to you!" Makie signaled to her friend.

"Alright, out of the way!" Madoka cracked her fist together. "Cheer leading formation 3-3-5! Hip hip! Hiiiiiiiyaaa!" with rhythm of jumps and hops, the girl literally pound the golem down to the ground. "Gooooooooo… Mahora!" she ended it with a flashy pose and smiled all the way down. "Did I get him?" But of course that little victory cheer ended when the beast came back on with a bad mood on its face.

"Uh oh" Makie gulped. "I think you just made it angry!"

The situation was looking bleak for the group but Chisame wasn't gonna throw in the towel just yet. _"Damn it. These things aren't only strong, but they're tough too. We need a plan or else we'll just be fighting a losing battle. Man… it's just too loud in here. If only there was less noise so I could think…"_ then suddenly… an idea came into her mind. _"Wait… noise? That's it!"_ she turned to her comrades in arms. "Misora, Akira, can you hold them off for five minutes!?"

"What for!?" the nun asked, "We can barely even hold them right now"

"I got a plan but I need five minutes to make it work"

Akira knew also that fighting solely on their strength was foolish, so trusting her friend, she nodded. "Alright Chisame, we'll buy you as much time as we can. Makie, Madoka, we'll hold our ground here! (hai!)" with a signal, the trio continued their attacks on Beethoven hoping that Chisame can make her plan work in time.

And the net girl did not waste time at all. Grabbing her pactio, she pulled out her magical wand and slowly chanted a magic circle around her. With a little time and a little blink, her soul was immediately sent to the net world where her seven little mouse nets welcomed her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ahh Chiu sama, you're back" one of the mouse greeted. "How can we help you in…"

"No time!" she barked at them, making the hamsters fall in formation. "Listen up everyone, I need to make 145 download channels onto the system, a program data update, and a sound amplifier!"

"145 Channels!!?" they all jaw dropped in unison. "Mistress, that kind of change will kill the bandwidth! Besides, we don't have enough space!"

"Then delete all unnecessary files! I want those downloads in ten seconds ago! Dump all of them into Drive: D and C and F. Reformat Drive: A and B and make defrag all the files in every other drives!"

"But what kind of files are you looking for Chiu sama?"

"Sounds" she answered. "Music, car crash, fart noises anything that makes a loud and powerful noise. Amplify the sound system to max and prepare my VR console for transport! GO!" and with that the mouse began to scatter and began opening one website to the next just to find the necessary file.

"Chiu sama, some of the websites require payment and access"

"Ignore it and move on to the free ones" she ordered. "I need to get as many sound as possible and burn them into discs. (sigh) I just hope Negi is fairing better than us here"

**(With Theo)**

But rather than worrying about Negi, Theo was in a bigger pickle than the rest of the gang. With a small army and a battleship on her tail, the princess of Hellas could do nothing but withdraw and try to outrun the enemy. But of course, that wasn't gonna work since they were practically trailing her with search lights and thermal scanners.

"Damn, this is so not good!" but just as things were turning bleak for her, she suddenly noticed some ice glaciers atop a cliff side which looked like they could fall at any minute if the temperature should suddenly change. "Well… it's better than nothing" using her good arm, she made a shield magic and timed her delayed spell at the precise location. "I only got one shot at this"

Koyomi, who was more than certain that she could take down Theodora abandoned all sorts of tactics as she chased the princess down. With her army and battleship on her side only a complete fool could lose this battle. "Right… we got her! Ready all batteries to fire at her!" the cannons of the battleship gladly aimed at the target. "This is too sweet. Any last words princess?"

Theo smirked. "Yeah, just a few. Try me"

"Fire!"

Bang!!

The sound of the cannons and the sudden increase in temperature was indeed what Theo needed to drop the ice on the girl. So using her magic shield to block the attack and the smoke to cover her escape, she soon made it out of the bottom of the cliff and watched as Koyomi's forces got decimated over the hard glacers that came falling down. "See ya later… kitty…" and with that she vanished.

**(Negi's team)**

But Negi was not fairing better than her. In fact, he was probably fairing worst than everybody else who were fighting against Fate's soldiers. After Asuna stabbed his shoulder, the girl threw the boy onto the other side of the wall and near the edge of the cliff where she can deliver the coup-de-grace to end him right there and now. And if she learned anything from modern warfare, she knows that without Negi, the war against Fate would be nothing more but an uphill battle against the world.

"Geh…" But Negi refuses to give up. Even without his magic he still had a bit of strength left to match against Asuna's might. "Damn…" the girl came closer. Her katar blades still sharpened and it hungered for the blood that it tasted a few seconds ago. _"I have to find a way to get to Asuna. If Fate is controlling her, then perhaps a point blank anti-spell discharge would be able to break the spell. I only need to get close enough to touch her on the head"_

As he looked around, he quickly devise a way to get past the princess's barrier. "Alright here goes" when Asuna finally charge in to deliver the blow, Negi used a magic wind attack to shift the snow to her direction. "Vicentase Flow!" the attack was good enough to make the girl cover her eyes and right before she knew it, Negi came charging at him. "Haaa!!!" but with her quick agility, she dodge his punch and sliced through his stomach with her katars. For a moment she thought victory was hers but her eyes widened when Negi disappeared into a puff of smoke.

"A decoy clone?"

"Gotcha!" surprising the girl from behind, Negi leaped in from the snow behind her and placed the palm of his head over on her forehead. "Dispell!" a flash beamed in from his hand and with such a close proximity the magic cancel barrier around Asuna was unable to stop it. "I got it…!" Negi cheered in victory as he removed his hand from the girl. "Asuna! Do you remember anything now? It's me… Negi"

…

…

…

…

…

A silence echoed from the girl as she starred down at the boy who made a fool out of her. With a blow from her knee and a taste of her elbow, Negi was thrown again to the earth eating dirt and snow in the process.

"A… Asuna san?"

"Aniki!" Chamo called out. "I scanned her already! There isn't a single spell or device controlling her! That's the real Asuna nee chan!!!!"

"What!?" the boy's eyes widened. "No that's impossible! If that's the case then why… why are we fighting?" this made Negi puzzled and confused. The one that he once admired and loved as a student and as a friend was now starring down at him as an enemy. But why? What could've possibly triggered this? "Asuna san! No! Stop!"

"Shut up!" the mere sound of the boy's voice irritated the girl. It felt like nail scratching on a blackboard on the edge of her ear. "I said shut up!" and then she lounges in for an attack. But finally getting some of the situation, Negi quickly dodged it and returned to a defensive stance. "That is no longer my name…"

"What…?"

"Why do you keep calling me that?" she frowned. "Why do you keep calling me by that ridiculous name? That name which I simply want to forget"

"But that is your name!" Negi shouted out. "You are Asuna Kagurazaka of Mahora academy. I was your teacher and you are my partner…"

"I said shut up!!!!"

Bang!!!

She fired out a beam from her hand, nearly hitting Negi and slammed against the wall of the mountain. The blast was so powerful that it even would've scared the outlying animals to flee their homes.

"You… you are the same as the others" Asuna continued. "You keep calling me by that name and yet you know that, that is not me. (pause) I am not her"

"But Asuna, that is you…"

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT!!!" she yelled to the top of her might. "YOU KNOW DAMN WELL THAT GIRL DOESN'T EXIST!! She is merely a cover to hide the sins of a criminal! That innocent girl was just the name that goes by delivering papers to the neighborhood and studying in school without a care who or what could be happening on the other side!" even Negi himself could feel the anger gushing out of her. The rage that was built upon hatred and confusion was all directed to him. It almost felt like he was the cause of all this.

"Asuna…"

"Didn't you hear me!?" she barked out. "I am not Asuna Kagurazaka! I am Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia of Ostia. The princess of twilight! The one who killed millions of innocents during the great war!"

Negi froze. He remembered then what Asuna's identity truly was. The princess of twilight. The one who took part in the inevitable destruction of the old capitol they saw now. The bane of magic itself. "Asuna… you……?"

"You said that you could help me Negi" Asuna balled her fist and readied her katar. "But can you help me now!? Can you take away the sins I have gathered? Can you bring back the lives I took all those years ago!? Can you go back in time and stop me destroying everything!? Can you live on with the thought, knowing that one of your students is nothing more but a murderer!" again she charge and this time her blades came dangerously close to Negi's throat.

"Asuna, please I understand that you're upset!"

"Understand me!?" she barked even louder than before. "How could you possibly understand me? Can you understand how I feel now about you!? Do you know what it feels like to suddenly find out that the life you had for the past 10 years was nothing more but a lie set up by those who only thought what was best!!?" with luck, she was able to lay a fist on the boy, sending a few feet towards the edge. "And so now… I thought that it would be best… if you would all just…… disappear!"

"Ugh…" Negi was recoiled by the last blow which left his stomach organs hurting for a few seconds. He could already see Asuna coming and if he was right, then his life could be snuffed out in just a few minutes.

"Good bye… Negi…"

"ANIKI!!!" with heart as great as gold itself, Chamo launched himself towards the girl in hopes at buying Negi some time. "Gwah!!!! Super ermine distraction surprise attack!!" But of course, Asuna noticed his attack and sliced right through his stomach. "Gahh!" the ermine fell to the ground… limped and its blood splattered around his body.

The blood in Negi's veins froze. His heart sank and his eyes widened with horror as Chamo's tiny figure flashed before his very eyes. His first and closest friend in the magic world… was wounded… fatally, and what confused him more was the fact that it was done by one of his most trusted comrade… Asuna. "CHAMOOO!!"

"I never did like that rodent" Asuna spoke out coldly as she returned to her main target. "Sayonara…… Negi"

But anger filled in Negi's heart. The negative feeling he once felt back in his village soon returned. The hatred, the anger, the urge to destroy… they were all back… and this time, it was just about to consume him once more. With his quick hand and quick thinking, Negi immediately pulled out his Pactio card and summoned out the only thing that could withstand against Asuna's magic canceler. Her very own… hiten no tsurugi.

Clang! Asuna's blow was parried much to her surprise and to add to the counter attack, Negi made a quick swing to her katars, destroying it, shattering them into tiny pieces of metal. "ASUNA!!!!" blinded by rage, the boy charged in with his blade and punched the girl right onto her stomach sending her a few feet above ground before falling towards the surface. "HAAAA!!"

To say the least Asuna was surprised. Her own weapon used against her, it almost felt like she was being outdone. She blocked the attacks several times with her gauntlet, but without a weapon to counter or the momentum to catch the opponent off guard she had to pull back. "Geh!" they traded blows with one another and neither side seemed to be backing down. Asuna couldn't use any of her magic or gadgets since she was too busy dodging the boy. Negi on the other hand didn't even have the time to cast them since he was so into cutting the girl up.

"Haaaa!!" Again, Negi attacked, and with a spin of his small body he was able to land a powerful blow at Asuna's chest giving him the opening to take her down. But of course he did not take it. Instead he used up his remaining strength to pin the girl down to the ground. Negi was victorious and with the blade in his hand, he stabbed the hiten no tsurugi right next to Asuna's face so that she wouldn't escape. "Haaaa… haaa… haaa…… haaaa" Negi panted like a tired dog that had just gone through hell.

As Asuna looked up to him, she noticed that the boy never really had any intention to harm her. Even after unleashing all that rage he was still able to contain himself and not let the monster inside get the better of him. But even after all that, Negi soon found himself at a strange situation.

He was holding Asuna's life at the palm of his hand. With a simple move, he could cut her neck off and disjoin it from her torso. But how could he? How could he possibly commit such an atrocious act and continue to live on as a teacher and a human? There was no real answer to that question. In fact… he hardly believed there was even such an answer to such a question. All he could do then was simply stare at the girl and pass on judgment which either meant to kill or not to kill. Right at this very moment a thousand terabyte of information was digitizing itself onto his brain. He was trying to think of a solution to fix this but all resulted in either his or her death.

His hand began to tremble and his body began to sweat even at this cold weather. There was no way he could do it. That was the real truth. To kill one of his students, his friend no less was not something he could do in a million years. It was against his law, his code and perhaps his very self. And besides… even if he wanted to… he couldn't possibly bring himself to kill Asuna. With everything that she has done for him in the past… it just didn't seem right for her to die with his hands. As Negi recalled the memories he had with her… his grip on the blade weakened and his thoughts became more and more clouded than ever.

"Your hands are shaking…" Asuna spoke up finally making the boy shot out from his thoughts. "What are you waiting for? Do it already. Finish me off now and Fate's plan will crumble. Without me he cannot use the Tower of Dawn to unleash my magic. You know this… don't you…?"

"Asuna…"

"You don't even know what you hold in your hands Negi" she continued. "If you kill me now, you will save the lives of thousands perhaps even millions. The war will come into a halt and Fate will have no choice but to abandon his plans for world domination. (silence) You can't do it can you? (more silence) I thought not. You never did have the courage to kill someone at least not willingly. (long silence) So what now? Eventually you will have to do something and that will decide the course of the war"

"Gehh…" Negi thought hard and strong while at the same time not trying to let the anger get on his nerve. He didn't know what to do, hell what could he do?

But just as he was thinking, a voice caught his ear. "Negi sensei!" the boy turned his head around and saw Kaede heading his way. "Kaede san…" in that tiny moment that he was distracted, Asuna took the opportunity to strike away the sword and push the boy away to get room for to fight in. "Arghh!"

Negi fumbled and recovered right when Kaede dropped in. "Negi sensei, are you alright?" but what the ninja saw then, made her eyes widened slightly. "Asuna dono?"

Asuna readied herself for combat for she knew that she was strong enough to fight Negi and Kaede. But then she stopped when she noticed another presence coming in from behind.

"Negi, Kaede!" it was Theodora, the princess of Hellas. "Asuna?"

"Tch…… annoyance" knowing well that she was outnumbered and outgunned, the traitorous princess pulled out a smoke bomb and thrashed it onto the ground. With the gang still recovering, she leaped off into the mountains to lose their track.

"Asuna!" Negi wanted to give chase but then Kaede stopped him, gesturing that his allies still need help.

"Negi sensei. Chachamaru and Chamo!"

Gritting his teeth in anger, the boy quickly thought of a plan to fix the situation. He needed to follow Asuna, but he couldn't just abandon his comrades to perish under the snow. "Damn it!" using his remaining energy, he immediately linked himself to his partners in the mountain side. _"Konoka, Satomi, please answer my call_!" the telepathic shout was so loud that even god itself would've been deaf by its sound.

**(The Great Paru Sama)**

"Eh?" Konoka who was busy sweeping the crushed golems from the ship immediately heard the call from Negi and was alarmed. "Negi sensei?"

"Konoka!" Satomi, the scientist called out as she too heard the plea. She was wearing her magical backpack (Pactio) which acted as both a weapon armory and a toolbox in times of need. They both nodded to each other and turned to the group. "Hey Yue, Negi's calling us. Can you guys handle things from here?"

"Sure" was her answer. "But I doubt we'll be much help here anyway" as they turned the hallway they saw Anya giving out one of her tantrums against the marching golems.

"Anya flame buster kick!!!" wham! She obliterated the beast into pieces. "Alright, who's the next sucker who wants a piece of me!?" the golem army literally sweat drop as they slowly withdraw from the crazed witch. "Hey! Where do you think you're going!? Come back here and fight me like a man if you even have any between your legs!!!" POW!

"Yeah… I think we'll be just fine here" Yue finished with her own mother of all sweat drops.

With a touch of their pactio cards and a simple chant 'telephatia' Konoka and Satomi vanished, transporting themselves to Negi's location.

**(Back with Negi)**

As Konoka and Satomi arrived at Negi's location they were quickly awestruck by the bodies that littered on the ground. Hundreds perhaps even thousands of golems were plastered on the slopes of the mountain. A battleship ruin laid not far beyond their eyesight and every ground looked like it was torched. "This is…" Satomi said in awe.

"Konoka san, Satomi san!" Negi called out with a wounded ermine on his hand. The two girls quickly run up to him with a confused look.

"Negi sensei" Konoka looked at the boy worried of his own condition. His body was once again full of scars and his clothes looked like they've been ripped by the elements once again. "Oh no Chamo kun"

"Chachamaru!" Satomi noted the damaged android on the ground. "Negi sensei… what did…?"

"I'm sorry" he interrupted. "I can't explain right now. I'll leave these two in your care. Please take care of them for me"

The mad scientist then saw the sadness in his eyes. The only time he showed those eyes is when he was prepared to go all out. So instead of inquiring for the details, she nodded to him and began extracting the data from Chachamaru's head.

"You guys go on ahead" Theo stated with her limped body. "I'll stay here and protect these guys and wait for a rescue team. I hate to admit it but if I join with you guys, I'll probably just be in your way"

"Theo san"

"Don't waste time!" she barked out. "The longer you stay here the more ground she'll get. GO!"

Negi and Kaede nodded and without another second the boy took out his pactio card to call in for reinforcements. _"Setsuna, Ku Fei, Mana, hear me…"_ he pleaded his words to be heard in the winds.

**(Nagi's team)**

"Haaa… haaaa… haaa… HA!" Setsuna panted heavily as she struck the last of the golems to death. The field that was once their picnic ground soon became a cemetery for golems. Life animated creatures shaped into different monsters and men poured in and were entirely decimated by the might of the Ala Rubra. Although they pretty much didn't stand a chance against them in the first place, Nagi had to admit that he had to work quite a sweat to finish them off. "That's the last of them!"

"Yeah… I think so too" Eishun nodded in confirmation. "That was quite the exercise. I haven't sweat this much since we last sparred Al"

"Yes, but it appears that our comrades have a different matter to attend to" Alberio gestured to Rakan and Ku Fei who were busily and equally sharing the meat buns they had bet on. Even after destroying thousands of those mindless drones they still acted like children.

"Ok four for me, six buns for Takahata, three for Nagi, and two for Ku Fei" Jack finished off with rounding up the food. "Ok we're equal"

"Yay!" the kung fu master then began eating the buns like a happy bee that got its honey. "Itidakimasu!"

"Haaa… Ku Fei san" Setsuna sighed before jumping in to join them. But before she could reach out for her share, Negi's telepathic message came through. "Eh… Negi sensei?" her facial expression was so obvious that even Nagi could see it from a distance.

"Something wrong Setsuna?" the Thousand Master asked. "Did something happen?"

"I'm not sure" she answered with a somewhat worried face. "Negi just seems to be calling us. Ku Fei!"

"Yeah I hear it too!" Ku Fei then quickly gobbled up her remaining buns and swallowed it all with a bottle of water. "I'm ready aru! Bring on round 2!"

"Eishun sama" Setsuna then quickly threw her Ala Alba badge to the swordsman. "Keep that with you. It's the only way to contact each other since you don't have a pactio card with Negi"

"Alright, but check on Konoka for me too will ya? I'd feel a lot better if you were with her" and with a blink of an eye they were gone. "Oh boy… looks like they're in quite a mess" but as he was just about to join up with his friends, another hundred giant golems suddenly dropped in from the sky, taking the Ala Rubra by surprise. "Ehh…… more of them?"

"I guess the term 'Deathless Army' was not just a catchy name for them" Albireo groaned. "Destroy one and a thousand more will be waiting to take its place on the pedestal"

**(Back with Negi)**

When Setsuna and Ku Fei arrived, they quickly turned to the boy prodigy who was preparing for a grand chase around the mountain. "Negi sensei, you called for us?" the ronin bodyguard asked worryingly.

"Yes. But we don't have much time. I'll explain everything to you on the way! Kaede san, can you still trace her?" the ninja nodded and pointed to the direction that Asuna was heading.

"She seems to be heading towards the open area about sixteen kilometers from here" she answered. "If we take the downhill path, we can cut her off"

"Right. Alright everyone, follow me"

"But wait… what about Mana san?" Setsuna looked around but did not see the gunman anywhere in sight. "Shouldn't we wait for her at least?"

"There's no time" Negi ordered. "We have to move now or we'll lose this chance!" and without waiting, he quickly rushed towards the area where Kaede pointed out to trail Asuna. The rest of Negi's Knights soon followed, though confused on what was still happening they did not disobey the child teacher.

**(The Great Paru Sama) (Outer Deck)**

Mana too also heard Negi's plea for help but unfortunately for her, Shiori and her golems were keeping her busy at the moment. She could not abandon the fight with her for she fear that the ship itself and the remaining crew inside wouldn't be sufficient to even her strength. "Forgive me, Negi sensei" she apologized indirectly to the boy. "But I cannot help you at this time"

"What's the matter Mana chan?" Shiori cooed seductively at her. "Did something bad happen to your precious teacher? Oh don't worry. You will be joining him soon" in a blink of a second, the Geisha golem quickly took position and before Mana knew what was happening, Geisha tied her hair around her feet and began dragging her through the ship's deck.

"Gahh!" but of course the gunman was not about to call it quits just yet. Using her remaining ammo on her P90, she fired onto the Geisha, hoping that it would be enough to take it down. But of course those golems were a lot more durable that the other small fries. As the monster widened its mouth and teeth for the kill, Mana used her gun as a chew bone for the creature before allowing its teeth to reach for her clothes.

With time against her, the girl quickly pulled out a grenade from her belt and dropped it into the beast's mouth. She then broke free from the Geisha's hair and allowed its mouth to close, keeping the explosion contained in it. Taking advantage of the confusion, Mana quickly leaped in towards Shiori who still remained exposed for attacks, but like always, Mirage was there to protect her. "So far this golem absorbs all of my projectile attacks. If ranged weapons can't hurt it, then I'm guessing that my fist can!" her fist reached into Mirage's mirror-like stomach but to Mana's surprise, her punched simply came back at her, hitting her face with her own strength. "Guooo!" she tumbled and fell to the floor.

For a split second, Mana thought that she had at least defeated one of Shiori's golem. At least without Geisha all of Shiori's attacks were easily predicted. But that thought was immediately thrown aside when she noticed that Geisha was still standing with its mouth still in tact. "Impossible…"

"A worthy effort" Shiori stated. "But futile…"

"Damn it…"

**(With Asuna)**

Asuna was running… yes she was running but not for her life. She was simply running away from Negi and his Knights which she was originally part of not long ago. Hell, she was perhaps the first to become Negi's Knights since she was his first pactio partner. If she was at her full strength at that time she would've been able to tear through the brigade with relative ease. But now… without a weapon and light wounded, she was forced to abandon the attack and withdraw to a safer location. She still had plenty of weapons on her and a few more gadgets to make up for her hiten no tsurugi, but at the moment she'd rather save them until the situation calls for it.

"Zzzztt…" came a sound from her earphone.

"This is Asuna" she answered. "Koyomi, Tamaki, report…"

"Tamaki here. I held target C and returned to base. Shirabe, Homura and Shiori are still fighting"

"Koyomi here" came the cat's weary voice. "My target escaped and I sustained some wounds but nothing serious. I'm returning to base"

"What of the main target?" Asuna inquired.

"The main target appears to have decimated our forces. They are regrouping as we speak"

"Deploy what's left of our reserve" the princess of twilight ordered. "We need to push them into a corner to fight them off"

"Understood. Tamaki out"

"ASUNA!!!"

The girl was then startled when a familiar voice suddenly echoed behind her. In wasn't much of a surprise to see Negi and his three knights coming after her, but she was expecting Theo and some of the other to be there as well. She then thought that they were probably dealing with the other members of the magister magi at the moment. "Heh…"

"It really is Asuna!" Setsuna gapped.

"Asuna aru!!" Ku Fei called out. "Wait, come back!"

The team was traveling a four man formation, keeping up with the leader of the group. Kaede was up front leading the team since she was the one who had the best sense of direction around the mountain area. "Keep close" she ordered. "We're gaining on her!" Negi was at the center to provide support while Ku Fei and Setsuna followed up the rear to protect the group from flank or rear attacks and provide long range support if necessary.

"Asuna san!" Negi tried to reach to her but she simply continued running.

"Tch…" realizing that they were gaining on her tracks, Asuna quickly pulled out a triple-shot-crossbow from her back and fired it at them. Not much to her surprise, Kaede easily deflected them with her giant shuriken.

The chase went on for several minutes with both sides trading attacks while running at each other. Setsuna, used her Pactio: Sica Shishikushiro to try and pin the girl using her wakizashi knives but Asuna having enhanced agility and speed, made it hard for the blades to even hit her without missing her clothes. Negi also followed suit using various spells he learned to capture an opponent using the elements around him since magic doesn't work on the girl.

"_Amazing"_ Sestuna thought in awe of Asuna's sudden improvements. _"Asuna's movements are extremely accurate. Her form doesn't falter even for a split second and her rear guard in constantly aware of what's happening. Her hear abilities have far improved and her talent with various weapons makes it hard for anyone to predict her attacks. Although I hate to admit it, but looking at her now…… she looks like she already surpassed me in terms of strength and speed"_ but while she was busy admiring her improvements, she continued to barrage the girl with attacks hoping to find an opening.

The battle chase lasted for about two minutes or so and within that short time span they were able to travel a distance of nearly fifteen kilometers. But just when they thought they got her, Asuna suddenly used a major explosion to cause a small avalanche to hide her escape.

"That should take care of them" she frowned before leaping off into a safe distance. After scanning the perimeter for a short moment, the princess soon arrived at a relatively small open area within a crater where a transport ship and a few dozen golem guards were waiting for her. "I guess the mission was a success" but before she could board the ship, a lightning bolt suddenly pierced through the fog, colliding against the vessel's hull, destroying it in the process. "A thunderbolt? No way!" and right behind the smoke that was caused by the blast, Negi and his Knights soon appeared, with their pactios activated. They had her surrounded and to say the least, Asuna was a little bit impressed. "Heh… I guess it really was too easy"

"Asuna san, please listen to me!" Negi begged. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"_So it's true? Is Asuna really our enemy?"_ Setsuna wondered worryingly. For if Asuna really was going to be their opponent, then they will be going through one hell of a fight. With her magic canceler and her red-baka-strength she could possibly be one of the strongest opponents they could be facing today.

"You're too soft Negi" Asuna smirked playfully at them. "Don't you know? Chivalry's been dead for more than a hundred years"

"Asuna san" Negi gritted his teeth. "I don't know how strong you are or how much improvements you've done. But without your pactio, you are powerless against us"

"Powerless?" she raised a quizzled look. "Oh I'll show you Negi" as the dark clouds loomed over the sky, the wind soon began to pick up once again. The atmosphere around Asuna changed from the cold hearted princess to an angered-cornered lion. The aura she gave out was so frightening that even Takahata sensei himself would be shaking in his shoes. "I will show you all… how 'powerless' I really am… without your pactio" she placed her hand in her pocket and grabbed an item that would've put fear in the hearts of all men alike. An item so deadly and so powerful that it shook Negi to his bones.

"Is… is that… a…"

"Adeat……" Asuna's new Pactio Card: Decidentes Valkyria (Fallen Valkyrie)


	12. The Valkyrie of Vengeance

**Chapter 12: The Journey to Mt. Kael (Part 5: The Valkyrie of Vengeance)**

**(The crater)**

Negi and his three knights bore witness to the power of the Princess of Twilight. Her armor bore the color of the dark skies of earth and the wings that bore out of her back were as black as raven's feathers. A hundred spears hovered around her and her eyes starred down back at them like a vulture waiting for its prey to show fear before it strikes.

But the boy did not falter. An inch he did not move back from his position and it was not fear that gripped his heart but worries. Worried that if he unleashed his power against Asuna, there might just be a chance that she could be wounded beyond recovery. Even facing against the fallen angel himself he still cared for her. He still worried about her………… he would not be able to strike her with his own powers.

As for Asuna… well… she did not have to do a lot of thinking herself. With her veins pumping with anger and her mind all set for revenge she struck the first blow. The spears that protected her around her body flung to the warriors below her. Negi and his comrades resisted, repeling the weapons away but to their amazement it took more energy than they thought to get away from them. The spears were sharp and their pointed tip was dripped with acid venom. It was indeed a weapon meant to kill with one strike and if the blade did not kill then the liquid would cripple it target to a slow and painful death.

Asuna struck and Negi blocked her attack. Her wings made her faster, more agile and also gave her the ability of flight. To her, the knights looked like nothing more but ants from her point of view. "Haaa!!" her blows her deadly and extremely powerful. Negi even felt like he was being hit by giant steel hammer going at 50mph over and over again. "Heeeeehhh!!!"

Clang!

Negi mustered his strength and used the hiten no tsurugi to shield himself, and to lock his weapon with Asuna. "Asuna, please listen to me!"

"We're passed the point of words Negi!!" she barked back and used another one of her spears to smack his face. But just as the weapon itself made contact, Asuna felt something from that hit. Sure the attack worked and it did some damage but not as much as she thought. It was as if her weapons and armor were smacking at a wall even stronger than steel itself. It was like hitting a mountain with a chisel. But of course this did not make her falter in her attacks. Instead it made her even more determined to put Negi down. She began rushing and continued her relentless attack at him with more vicious combos.

"Negi sensei!" the three knights noticed that the child teacher was in trouble and quickly hurried to his side but Asuna wasn't going to let them interrupt. So with a wave of her hand A ghost-like figure of herself appeared and began attacking the knights with amazing skill and speed. "Tch!" Setsuna parried away the blow but soon found herself fighting against a creature that was just like Asuna..

Kaede too was also facing the same problem. Even with her giant shuriken and nimble agility, she was unable to counter the ghost-Asuna.

Even Ku Fei with her tonfas (Pactio) could not adapt to such a situation. Her body was tough and her skills beyond a master, but even so she could not fight against Asuna's awesome might. "Kyaaaa!!"

"Ku Fei san, hold yourself!" Setsuna then quickly moved to assist using her pactio to keep the imperfect clone at bay. "Kaede san! If we strike together at different areas, we can make an opening at the center"

"It's worth a shot" the ninja replied holding her giant shuriken blade on her rear. "But I doubt it will make any difference"

Negi wanted to help but with his knights busy, Asuna took the pleasure of attacking him using only her remaining weapons and her body armor against him. "Setsuna, Ku Fei san!"

"Don't let those petty things distract you!!" and with a powerful kick from her left foot, Asuna pounded Negi right on the chin. But unlike before, Negi was able to recover more quickly and block the continuous barrage of combos with relative ease. The boy continued to remain on defense for about a minute or two until he finally decided to go on the offensive. Using one of his many spells, he unleashed a thunderbolt at Asuna in hopes of knocking her out.

But to his surprise, the girl simply used one of her many spears to become the lightning rod and used it against one of the boy's students. The electric attack was indeed powerful and it even created a small crater within the crater itself. "Those spears and nagatamas are like lightning rods used during a storm in Hellas to protect itself from lightning bolts. My wind based spells will have no effect if they did hit her in the first place"

"What's the matter Negi!?" Asuna taunted him from afar. "Is that all you got, or did you forget that magic doesn't work on me!?"

Negi gritted his teeth in anger. One side of him wanted to assist Setsuna and the others but another side of him wanted to blast Asuna to the ground. "I may not be able to use magic on you directly…" he began with his hand balled into a fist. "… but what if I use it indirectly then!?" he then cast is wind spell again to turn the tide of battle. He created a strong gush of wind through the crater and when the snow enveloped the air, Asuna was forced to withdraw to a safe distance using her Valkirie wings to get to higher ground.

At first she thought that Negi was going to do some ridiculous stunt to lay a powerful blow on her but to dismay, he simply made a snow shield to cover his tracks while he helped his students. "Tch… that's a cheap trick" Asuna muttered before rushing down again to fight the boy.

**(The caves)**

"Haaaaaa!!!" Akira shouted out to the top of her lunges as she laid a powerful punch at Beethoven's cello arm. The two blows connected and the golem recoiled backward from the attack making it possible for the girls to continue their barrage. "Misora, now!"

The nun quickly dash right to the falling Beethoven and cast a spell to bind it for at least a few minutes. "Alright! Eat this you big chunk of rock!!!!" with a giant cross in her hand, she literally crucified the monster onto the ball and bind its limbs to the sides of the cross. "Hehehe… that should keep you busy for awhile" she muttered out exhaustingly before turning to her comrades. "Cocone, the rest is all yours!"

"Understood" the child mage nodded before firing a blast of energy from the palm of her hand onto the beast. The explosion that came after was devastating but Beethoven remained intact and undamaged from their attacks.

"No way!" Akira yelled in disbelief. "We didn't even make a dent on it!"

"What is that thing made out of? Rubber? Plastic? Legendary stones made from the farthest reaches of hell!!!!?" Misora panicked.

"It must be made with even stronger materials" Cocone stated.

Akira turned around and noted that Makie and Madoka were holding off Rhapsody pretty well using the natural surroundings. But Zazie on the other hand was having the biggest of all their troubles. She was facing Shirabe alone and to be honest, their strength levels were farther apart than she could possibly known. It would've been better if Zazie was able to outdo the violinist at the early part of the battle but now that the fight has dragged on, Akira could see that the gypsy was losing much of her power. Shirabe showed no signs of backing down and with every string she played, a portion of the cave becomes torn beyond recognition.

"You are good gypsy" Shirabe complimented. "But I see that you are no different from the other humans. You tire easily and you cannot hold on for long against a talented individual such as I…"

"Hnn…" Zazie then realize that the next attack that Shirabe would give out would be strong enough to take everyone out. So without thinking of her very own safety, she used her cards to create a shield wall to protect the others. The moment the violinist played her instrument, Zazie took the full power of the blow and was flung to the wall like a heap of rock flicked by a powerful force.

"Zazie!" Akira yelled out before rushing towards the girl. The gypsy was alive, that much was to her relief but the wounds she sustained from that last blow made her unconscious which leaves them vulnerable to Shirabe's attacks.

"Although it saddens me to kill a person with great talent of the instruments…" Shirabe stated. "… let it be known that her sacrifice will not be in vein, for a new world under Fate sama's hand will be light the way for talented artists such as herself to a better and brighter future"

"What?" Akira quickly got into her defensive stance to prepare to fight to the finish.

"Do not worry" again the violinist prepared her violin for the final curtain call. "You will not go alone. You will all die here and your deaths will bring about the future"

"Akira!!" Madoka yelled out in fear. "Get out of there!" Makie could not bear to see one of her friends die in front of her face so she covered her eyes in horror. Even Misora and Cocone could not get up fast enough to block it. But just when they thought that all hope seemed lost… another sound came into play.

Twang!!!

"AHHH!!" it was a sound so infuriatingly horrible and so nauseating that even Shirabe had to plug her ears to block out the noise. "What is that godforsaken sound!!!?"

"My ears feel like they're gonna burst!!!" Misora yelled out in pain. And to her amazement, even Rhapsody and Beethoven found it irritating.

After a minute later, the sound suddenly stopped making everyone unplug their ears. "Hey hey hey!!" came a familiar voice from the back of the cave system. To everyone's surprise it was Chisame but to their amazement, she was on a DJ table and she was wearing some sort of hip hop fashion with a cap worn backwards and a jacket that was nearly twice her size. "Alright boys and girls! You wanna play who's the loudest? Well let's dance!" with a mere turn of her disc (I don't know how to spell it. Disk or disc?) the entire cave system began to shake with a force nearly three times more powerful than Shirabe's last attack.

"Stop that accursed sound!!" the violinist barked out in anger. "If you want a battle of music then allow me to show you my talent!"

"You mean this noise?" Chisame smirked up before playing a remixed version of Shirabe's playing. It was just as horrifying as ever but this time it was an electric guitar playing along with drums and other loud instruments.

"That… that… YOU!" Shirabe was now pissed off. Real pissed. "You perverted my sound and turned them into something so… sooo… so horrid!"

"You better believe it sister! Its call a remix" Chisame grinned. "It's the sound of the new generation!" but while she was busy taunting the girl into fighting her, Chisame was relaying a telepathic communication with her other comrades. _"Akira, Misora, move it!"_ the team noted her actions and quickly withdrew to the entrance of the cave. At least there, they wouldn't have to worry about their rear sides.

**(The Great Paru Sama) (Inner corridors)**

"Haaaa!!!"

WHAM!

That was the sound of a golem's face being crushed into a million pieces after being struck by Anya's mighty foot. Even after the members of the Ala Alba had fought for over 30 minutes now, more and more golems continued to appear replacing the wrecked ones that they destroyed.

"Alright everyone, the control room is clear!" Kazumi announced to the members. "Yue, get the weapons system online. Fuuka and Fumika, you two watch our backs with Anya chan. Class rep, try to get the communication back and contact Negi or anyone on the ground. (Hai!) Everyone else, split into groups and clear out the bridge. We'll need to get this ship moving as soon as possible"

"Yes!"

The photographer then quickly turned to the security monitors to find out where the golems were coming from. She scrolled through the channels one by one and then suddenly she came upon the outer deck where Mana was facing off with Shiori and her two golems. "Man… this whole place is infested. We're gonna have to work faster. Hey Yue, how long until we can get the guns of the ship back on?"

"Five minutes if I'm not mistaken" the blue haired magician answered. "But I doubt they'll do much good. I can barely see anything through this fog"

"What about the engines?"

"The ship can only be directly controlled from the bridge" Yue explained. "If we can get there we can take the ship out of here to safer grounds"

"Then we'll just have to fight our way there" Ayaka barked out. "Yue, you come with me and we'll fight our way to the bridge. Kazumi, you and the rest stay here and hold this room. We'll come back as soon as we get this ship moving again"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Mana's side, she was faring so well. She was wounded… badly wounded to be exact. Her clothes were pretty much torn to rags and her body releasing fluids of her own blood. She was a mess. With Geisha and Mirage keeping her at a distance there was no way she could lay a bullet on Shiori. The copycat mage was too far out of range and even if she could get close enough to get a shot at her, Mirage would simply jump in and bounce the bullet right back at him like a trampoline bouncing the rocks back at her.

The markswoman panted and reloaded her gun clip. She only had a few shots left but hopefully that would be enough to take down Shiori.

"You can shoot at me as many times as you want gunslinger" Shiori laughed out. "But you already know that projectiles are useless against one of my caliber"

Mana knew that to be true, but she wasn't ready to throw the tower in just yet. After taking a deep breath and releasing a sigh she spoke out silently. "Then I guess I'll just have to try harder" with skills as legendary as the famed Revolver Ocelot, Mana fired her gun towards the wall allowing it to ricochet two more times before suddenly bouncing off towards Shiori.

The copy mage immediately dodged it and turned back to her enemy with widened eyes. "How did…? A ricochet bullet?" another shot was fired and this time, it managed to put a hole through Shiori's robes. "Gaahh!!"

"Hmm… I can't really see with all this fog" Mana grumbled before counting her bullets. "Did I get her?"

But the sudden turn of events just seemed to turn Shiori even more excited. "You continue to surprise me gunslinger. It's no wonder that you are one of the first Knights. You alone can adapt to any kind of situation. But let's see how you do about this. Mirage… expand!" immediately, the mirror golem suddenly grabbed its own stomach and stretched itself to insane length that even Mana herself was surprised. The creature stretched itself both vertically and horizontally for a few times and continued doing that until it covered Shiori whole.

"It…… got bigger" was all that Mana could say in shock surprise. There wasn't really much to say anyway. What could she say? Holy moly?

"Hahahahahaha!!!" Shiori laughed from within the monster. "With this form, not even your precious teacher can possibly penetrate its shielding. Geisha, destroy her!!!" with that order, Geisha immediately charged at Mana's location and tore the last section of the outer wall which she could use for cover.

Exposed and with very little option, Mana decided on a do-or-die fight. One last stand off till one side falls. It was an honorable course of action, foolhardy but perhaps the only choice she had left in her list.

Clicking her last bullets together, Mana attacked and charged at Geisha hoping to at least take this beast down so that it would not harm anyone else. "HAAAAA!!!!"

Bang bang bang bang bang!!!

**(The crater)**

Things could be going better for Negi and his knights that evening as they fought at the base of the crater. They managed to hold their ground against Asuna's relentless attacks but with her new artifact, she became a much more deadly enemy than Fate could ever be. Magic attacks were useless against her, her strength… unrivaled, her skill in combat only comparable to Setsuna wielding a blade and her stamina is without a doubt outmatched. To put it simply, she was a living weapon capable to fighting even the toughest divine army to a standstill.

"Asuna!!" Negi yelled out charging with his hiten no tsurugi. They both clashed their weapons together to a deadlock position which Setsuna found it to be in her favor.

With her matching speed of an eagle, the ronin immediately charge at the princess of twilight hoping to knock her out cold with a tap on the neck. "Heeeeeaaaa!!!" but of course Asuna saw this and quickly pulled another one of her spears from her back and parried the blow causing a second deadlock. "Kagurazaka san!" Setsuna called out. "Why? Why are you fighting us? Why are you fighting on Fate's side!?"

Obviously the girl didn't answer back. She just starred at both of them, looking as if she didn't have the slightest care in the world what she was actually doing. But as both parties began to put in their strength in the deadlock situation, Kaede noticed that Asuna was exposed on the rear giving her an opportunity to attack.

So without waiting, the kunoichi threw out her giant shuriken and aimed it at the precise area where the princess was standing. However the blade would not hit, as the shadow ghost of Asuna came by and deflected it away. Kaede took the shuriken back and landed back on the ground with a heavy heart. She had often sparred with the young Asuna many times before but never imagined that she would actually be fighting against her in a life and death situation.

"Hyaaaaaaa!!!!" Ku Fei soon entered the field and attacked the ghost with her tonfas using her quick reflexes and agility to get the better of her opponent. With some power moves she only used against tough opponents, the Kung fu master managed to lay a blow on the shadow and strike it on the stomach and the head. "Chooowaa!!"

Asuna noted that her back was exposed so she quickly released the deadlock she was in and get to higher ground. When she to the higher side of the crater, a grin came upon her face making the knights cautious to what she might do. There were still four spears on her back and two more in her hands and she didn't need all of them to defeat Negi.

The princess rested for a moment hoping to catch her breath after that long run from the mountains. But she did not take her eyes off her opponents. With Negi there and half of his knights with him, it was only logical that she kept her guard up.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing to the ground diverted Asuna's attention. She noticed that the ghost shadow she conjured was defeated and that all four of her enemies were regrouping for one final attack.

"Setsuna san" Negi whispered. "I need you to make a distraction. If we rush onto her directly, it would useless. Ku Fei dono, you'll strike from the right side with me. Meanwhile, Kaede san will take the center and attack just in case if Asuna tries to fly away. Got it?" they all nodded to his plan and slowly moved into position to strike. "Those shadows are her extra eyes and ears. We'll need to take those out first before we can hit her"

Asuna noticed their strange movements so she quickly summoned another two of her ghost shadows to defend her on her blind spots. "What are you planning in that big brain of yours this time Negi bozu?" she chuckled.

After a few minutes had past and both sides recovered just a bit of their previous strength, Negi eyed the terrain to see if there was anything he could use to his advantage. Negi maybe powerful like a divine being true, but his greatest strength lay with strategy, cunning and development rather than brute strength and power. That has always been his most useful weapon and it will always be, for he knew he still had much to learn.

With a dash that would've made the gods blink, Setsuna rushed out first with her katana and rushed towards Asuna. The princess noted her actions and so she threw out her rear guard spears to tackle her. But Setsuna was far too skilled to be taken out by some cheap shot. She deflected them with a slash from her sword and continued to dash towards her target.

"Tch… annoying…" Asuna muttered out before sending out one of her shadow ghosts to attack. It wasn't long then until Negi appeared behind her till she leaped out into the open. The ghosts that she conjured earlier to cover her back were immediately destroyed leaving nothing but air in its wake. "That's some speed…" but then just as she was in the sky, Kaede suddenly appeared catching her off guard. _"What? A double trap!?"_

"Sorry about this Asuna dono…" WHAM!!! The ninja slammed her fist onto the girl's chest plate sending her right down towards the snowy ground. The weight of her armor combined with the laws of gravity and the strength of baka black, made certain that the girl hit the ground really hard. Hopefully it would be enough to knock her out or wound her at least.

As the dust slowly enveloped around the crash site, Negi and his comrades quickly formed a semi circle around it just in case if Asuna would still come up and fight. "Asuna san…" he muttered out worryingly about the girl's condition.

"Did we get her?" Setsuna asked out to anyone who could answer.

"I managed to hit her…" Kaede clenched her fist onto her giant shuriken. "But I doubt that would be enough to take her down. Remember how long it took for us to defeat her when she came to the resort?" Setsuna remembered well for she was the one of many who trained Asuna in the art of combat. The reason why she can handle her sword very well was because she had a skilled master to train her.

"Yes… I remember…"

But just as the dust settled down Negi's eyes immediately widened when he noticed something coming out. Four of Asuna's shadow ghosts poured out from the smoke and attacked the child teacher, but Negi made little effort in destroying them as they did not have the same magic cancel ability as the original.

"Not bad Negi bozu" came Asuna's voice from the dust cloud. "That was some stunt you pulled. I am seriously impressed. Tricking me twice fold and then knock me out with a single blow. I gotta hand it to ya… that would've worked on me… about a week ago… when I was still naïve" her face had a little smile spreading across her lips and her eyes looked as if it derived of emotions of all sorts. It was like she sold her very soul to evil for the sake of power or something. (This happened in the anime of Mahou Sensei Negima)

"Asuna…"

She then cracked her fingers together as if preparing for the next attack. "Now… why don't we take this up a notch? (smirk) Are you ready Negi?" and then to their surprise, Asuna suddenly vanished from sight and appeared right behind Negi in a split of a second.

"What?" Negi was immediately caught by surprise by that movement. It was so fast that it may even rival against his Raiten Taisou (Lightning movement) technique.

Whack!

The boy was hit face first by the girl's fist and sent straight forward towards the center of the crater. "Negi!" Setsuna called out worried but was stopped when Asuna appeared before her in a flash. "Geh?!"

"You should be worrying more about yourself… master…" Asuna stated before clashing blades against the ronin.

"Tch!" Setsuna parried many of the attacks, but Asuna's strikes were just as powerful as a bull's horn ramming against her body. When the samurai lost balance for a moment, Asuna took the opportunity to lay in one of her famous kicks onto her stomach making her fall on her back. The princess moved in for the kill but she stopped when a familiar ninja decided to make an appearance.

"Setsuna, get down!" Kaede yelled out throwing her giant shuriken again. Annoyed by the giant shooting star, Asuna disposed of that item, cutting one of its blades off the main piece with little effort. "Hnn…"

Ku Fei then came in next with her kung fu skills. Since she was keener in CQC (Close Quarter Combat) she had the upright advantage against Asuna. "Heeehhhh!!"

**(Mt. Kael's slopes)**

"Haaaaa!!" Kotaro laid out a punch towards his enemies and slammed his iron fist onto Ifrit's face. "How'd you like that? Had enough yet!?"

"Graagghhhh!"

"Geeze, you guys are as tough as nails. And I thought that Rakan was the only one who had skin as strong as steel" he then charged up a dark energy ball from his hand and fired it onto the Flame golem creating a small whirl of dust.

The impact was strong enough to come towards Theo who was busily protecting Konoka and Satomi who were tending to the wounds and/or damages to Chamo and Chachamaru. "Hey watch it dog breath!" the princess yelled out putting up a barrier around the area to shield them from the dust. "We've got some injured here!"

Konoka activated her pactio artifact and quickly healed Chamo. Though the wound may have healed, the little ermine still needed to be taken care of and tended back on the ship. "Chamo kun…" she muttered out his name worryingly.

"Eh… ahhh…" the little critter slowly came through. "Nee san…"

"Chamo kun!"

"I… I can…" he sounded weak and extremely tired.

"Can? Can what Chamo kun?"

"I can see Theo san's panty from here"

"HEY!" the princess quickly noted that her skirt was pointing up for a second there and was in good position of the ermine's point of view.

"Chachamaru…" Satomi stated to her android friend. "Run a diagnosis on all of your systems. Create a backup on important files only and memory circuits"

"Understood" Chachamaru obeyed the command and began checking herself. Her body was a complete mess if one would say so. Her limbs were completely cut off save but her right arm and head which was luckily still attached to her torso. A lot of wires were sticking out of her body and the metallic plates she used as shields were nothing more but scrap metal just like the many airships that come through this mountain. "Scan complete. Main power core damaged, critical error on all weapons, support joints at 5 percent capacity, memory banks severed… creating backup. (Pin ping) Backup successful. 98 percent of memory preserved. Running on emergency energy. System shutdown imminent"

"Damn… looks like we don't have much time" the mad scientist groaned before pulling out a small PHD (Portable Hard Drive) from her pocket. "Alright Chachamaru, I'm hooking up to your connector. Let's hope this thing still works"

"Satomi san" Konoka looked nearly in panic. "Is Chachamaru going to be alright?"

"To be honest, her body is a complete mess" Satomi answered honestly. "It'll take me months to get this form back into shape. Though I may not be able to save her shell, I can transfer her personality, memory and everything else from her head to another body. (Really?) Yeah… but I'm gonna have to be quick. If the main power core is damaged then it's only a matter of time before it detonates. Chachamaru is run by both magic and electrical power. A dangerous combination and if it's unstable, the blast will be powerful enough to wipe destroy anything within a three kilometer radius"

When Satomi connected her PHD onto Chachamaru's head, the android quickly began downloading herself into the device hoping to escape this battle alive.

"You guys better hurry it up" Theo warned them. "Kotaro won't be able to hold out long against those guys"

Ping… download complete.

"Got it!" Satomi yelled out with glee. "I'm transferring Chachamaru to her emergency body" and then suddenly out of nowhere, the girl pulled out a doll the size of a pen which she planned to use on Sayo earlier. "Chachamaru? Are you alright in there?"

The robot looked like a miniature version of Chachazero, Evangeline's personal bodyguard. It had pointy robotic ears that looked a lot like antennas, limbs as fragile as strings and a small jetpack on the back to travel around. It was simply used for reconnaissance rather than pure combat or expedition.

After awhile, the doll's eyes opened up. "Systems online. I am here Satomi san"

"Phew… that's a relief"

"Satomi chan, you did it!" Konoka gave her scientist friend a big hug.

"Hey, it was nothing for a scientist of my caliber" she smiled proudly at her work. "But now we have another problem. Chachamaru's old power core is still damaged. If we don't get it out of here, it may cause an explosion so powerful that it might just wipe a whole battleship off the sky. I'm gonna have to remove it and disable the core manually"

"My old power core should be located where the heart is" Chachamaru explained. "Removing it will be dangerous"

"Well then make it quick" Theo urged them. "If this fight goes on, we're gonna be facing to fights on our hand"

**(The crater)**

Negi emerged from the snow once more after being pounded by Asuna's mighty fist. He had encountered the girl's powerful punches many times during his stay in Mahora and knew how powerful and effective it was to discipline kids. But this time it was different. The hit was harder and was more bent on killing rather than hurting. He knew that if he didn't dodge that blow for a split second, it would've damaged his brain and probably put him to sleep for an hour or two. "Eghh…" the boy let out a few cough of blood before standing up again. He could see Asuna fighting against his knights and she was fairing better than he could have hoped for.

If it was Fate he was fighting now, Negi would've unleashed all of his powers against him without holding anything back. But his opponent now was Asuna. His student, his friend… his comrade in arms. He could never possibly raise up arms against her.

"Asuna san…" Gathering up what remained of his courage from the bowels of his stomach, Negi stood from the ground on his own two feet and readied his blade for one final battle.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Setsuna clutched onto the spear that stabbed her. She was overconfident for a moment that would've been able to lay a blow onto Asuna but in turn the blow bounced right off and onto her. Fortunately she was able to let the strike miss all of her vital organs by just a few millimeters. The poison slowly seeped onto her skin burning off her energy. She tried to pull it out, but she forgot on how strong Asuna was and how easily it would be for her to tame King Kong.

As Asuna plunged her sword deeper into Setsuna's stomach, a small grin began to appear on her face. It was as if she was enjoying her pain like Tsukuyomi would.

"Asuna…" the ronin muttered out with blood coughing out of her mouth. _"She's too strong. I can't move my body at all and the poison is burning in my stomach…"_

"Don't try to move" the traitor stated. "It will only make the poison seep in deeper"

"But why? (Cough) Why are you… why are you fighting against us? What changed you?"

Asuna then twist her spear onto the hanyo's gut making her squeal. "What changed?" she answered her question with a question of her own. "I didn't change! I just woke up from a dream that I thought that was real"

"Wha…?"

"How would you feel, if you suddenly find out that everything that has happened to you was nothing more but a lie? A cover up? Just a silly dream conjured up by someone to make me think that I was just a normal girl"

**(Flashback) (10 years ago) (Mahora Academy)**

Asuna shivered coldly that day when she and Takahata arrived at Mahora Academy. She did not know why she was here or why Takahata wanted to come to a school in the first place, but she did not question his actions. There, she saw dean Konoemon talking and Takahata handing over several pieces of paper describing Asuna's true nature. The dean was rather surprised and was shocked to find the princess of a nation was actually going to be studying in his school.

"Are you sure about this Takamichi?" the dean asked the man who brought the royal family member to his doorstep.

"Yes professor. I know that this is a lot we're asking you to do…" Takahata lowered his head in shame. "But it is my master's final wish. He left me with a small sum of money here in Japan. I can have it all transferred to you if you want and also he…" he stopped halfway when Konoemon raised his hand.

"I know your master, Gateau Vanderburg well Takamichi. He was a good friend of mine and a good drinker at that as well" he let out a small laugh. "I know that he was a rational and decisive man, but is it really necessary to remove her memories? I mean…… isn't that kind of harsh"

"My master's comrades all agreed to it so it is my job to carry it out"

"You are not your master Takamichi" Konoemon gave out. "Gateau was a brilliant man but even the greatest geniuses make mistakes. Shouldn't we at least ask for her opinion?"

"No…" Takahata replied with a head shake. "I don't want to risk it"

'This is a horrible mistake' was what Konoemon wanted to say to him, but his sense of honor kept his mind calm. He paused for a moment trying to make sure that Takahata was certain with this course of action. He looked into his eyes and watched how he breathed, but could find no trace of hesitation. "You know Takamichi. I respect that you are honoring your master's wishes…… but this course of action I will really have to deny it. I will not try to stop you out of respect of you and your master, but to take her memories away is like taking her childhood"

"I know it is extreme professor……… but she deserves better than this" he turned his head around and looked at the 5 year old Asuna starring at the giant door in front of the main building. "She deserves a normal and happy life"

Konoemon sighed. There was absolutely no way he could top that. "Very well Takamichi. I'll make the arrangements. You'll work here as an intern teacher first and I'll help Asuna on her resume as a student. It will be hard but she will adapt…"

"Thank you professor… you don't know how much this means to me…"

"I hope I never will…" the old man muttered softly just barely for Takahata to hear. "Alright then. I will go tell Shizuna sensei of your stay. Why don't you join me inside after you are done? We'll sort out everything then"

The only thing Asuna could remember then was Takahata looking at her with those loving eyes before a blinding flash sent her into a drowning sleep. The next morning she awoke in a small unfamiliar dorm room alone and with only a folder telling her of her new identity. From there she studied in Mahora academy and met Konoka, her first friend and the rest as we all know it… was history.

**(End flashback)**

A single drop of tear fell from her eyes as she recalled the old memory lingering at the back of her head. At first that all of those things she remembered were just something put inside her head to turn her against her friends. But the more she tried to deny it, the more sense it made. It was the reason why she never knew about her parents or why she didn't even ask about that certain topic. The death toll of millions weighed heavily on her shoulder and the only way to make up for it was to return to her former self and make everything right again with the powers that she had gained.

"I never turned my back on anyone…" she stated out finally. "It's the world that turned its back on me…" as she raised her second spear up to deliver the finishing blow to Setsuna, the hanyo's eyes widened with horror as she was about to see the last moments of her life.

But the blow never came when a certain chestnut haired boy rushed in and whack Asuna's head out of the way.

WHAM!!

Negi's fist connected to the girl returning the favor and sending her back down to the ground. Immediately Negi pulled the spear out of Setsuna's stomach and canceled his hiten no tsurugi to summon, Konoka's healing fan pactio (Flabellum Euri and Flabellum Australe). "Abeat… adeat!" the healing only took about a second to take effect and right before Setsuna knew it, the wound and the poison was instantly healed. "Setsuna, are you alright?"

"Yes…" she nodded and flinching off the pain. "But what about…"

"Negi sensei!" Kaede called out getting the attention of both of them. "Look…" she pointed to where Asuna was and right then the boy could tell that there was no way that they would be able to defeat her. The aura around her screamed POWER and combined with her baka red strength; she was practically The Incredible Hulk except with all the green skin and overly sized muscles.

Right when she managed to get back up, Asuna wanted nothing more but to cause pain to the four of them. But before she could lung in and attack again, a call came through her ear phone. _"Princess…"_ it was Fate who was speaking. _"I hope you remember why you are there. The resources you are wasting on this operation is exponential and I expect you to remain focused on your main target"_

"_I'm currently in the middle of something here Fate…"_

"_You are fighting against Negi, I know"_ he briefed._ "But you do realize that your plan is already behind schedule. Even if you do fight him… you cannot hope to defeat him"_

"_I can take him…"_

"_No… you can't"_ he replied confidently and emotionlessly as ever. _"The only reason why you are able to fight against him is because of the pactio I gave to you and because of his chivalrous heart. But that can change in a heartbeat. If he does come at you your majesty… then there is little I will be able to do to help"_ there was a sound of clinking of glass and ice meaning that Fate was probably having a drink in Asgard. _"Finish the job princess. Do not take unnecessary risks…"_

"Tch…" Asuna spat before turning back to her opponents who seemed to be waiting for her next move. "Well… looks like this is it Negi…" the whole gang looked at her with a questionable face but then it turned to surprise when the princess pulled out what looked like a bomb detonator from her chest pocket.

"That's…"

"Oh by the way Negi…" Asuna interrupted. "Congratulation on finding your dad…"

Beep…

Boom………

An explosion the size of Manhattan erupted on the other side of the mountain. It was so powerful that even the earth they stood on shook with a loud tremor. It was where Nagi and the Ala Rubra were fighting.

**(The Great Paru sama)**

Mana, Haruna, and everyone on board the ship saw the explosion. It was a good thing that they were far from it or they would've been caught in the blast and sent right back into the stone age.

"Wha!?" the whole gang was shocked, paralyzed… perhaps even weak on their knees as the explosion occurred to them. The mushroom cloud that gathered over signified that it was powerful enough to match even an atomic bomb.

But just when they were all distracted with the gracious fireworks Shiori gave out a smirk of success. "It looks like you fail gunman" she stated with a confident smile of victory hiding behind Mirage's mirror barrier. "Your precious Ala Rubra are no more and your master has failed. (chuckles) What are you going to…?"

Bang bang, bang!!!

Mana got annoyed by the girl's constant bragging and decided to shut her up with a few bullets of her own. "You talk too much"

"My my… such anger coming from you" she chuckled evilly. "If I am correct, you only have at least four shots left in that pistol of yours. And even that is not enough to stop all of us. Geisha!" immediately the golem that she called out rushed in with her gigantic teeth to chop the limbs off the girl.

Mana leaped away but to no success when the Geisha wrapped her titanium hair around her ankle and dragged her back to the floor. "Oooofff!!" the markswoman tried to break free from the grip by shooting at the golem twice leaving on two bullets left in her clip. She tried to shoot again the third time but the Geisha slapped the gun away with her hand and pinned her to the floor by the neck. "Gehh!"

And it was right then, when Shiori finally sealed her own victory of the battle. With Mana unarmed and incapacitated, she was free to gloat as much as she wanted. "Well it has been fun Tatsumiya chan" she cooed. "But I'm afraid our little fight ends here. Though I must say I was expecting more from you. You were one of Negi's most powerful knights after all and Fate told me that you would be up for the challenge. I guess he overestimated you"

"Kehh…!!"

"Oh please, do struggle. Your soft moans of pain will make your death all the more sweeter hehehehehe" she sounded almost as sadistic as Tsukuyomi with that giggle and what she wanted more was blood and gore more than anything else. "You know… I once thought that your master Negi was a powerful mage. One that might've even surpassed Fate sama himself. But in the end I discovered he was nothing more… but a babysitter for weaklings like you. You can't even protect yourself…"

"Grrrrrhhh!!" that insult was the last straw.

**(The caves)**

Makie, Madoka, Akira and Misora (plus Cocone) were running for their lives. After suffering a blow from the enemy mages, and with Zazie wounded, the gang had little choice but to withdraw from battle and hope to luck that they can make it back to the surface before Chisame loses her ground against Shirabe.

"Kazumi, Kazumi, are you there!?" Madoka tried calling through her Ala Alba badge. She had been trying to get through to the ship or any of the members able to respond but sadly the only thing she was able to get was static and exploding sounds.

"Any luck?" Akira asked, carrying a wounded Zazie on her back.

"No. No one's answering the receiver. I tried using my pactio card but no one's listening either"

"Then we'll just have to work our way to the surface and find Negi sensei. I'm sure he'll be able to help"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

But at the center of the cave, Chisame was strangely combating Shirabe and her golems with every ounce of magic in her body. She heard of battle of the bands before but what she was doing now was just plain ridiculous. Even with the horrible sounds Shirabe was using, Chisame was able to counter it using a fart noise. When Beethoven and Rhapsody came into play she would blow them back with a simple mix of glass-breaking and car alarm sounds. If one would look at this now they would think that these guys were just trying to see who can make the loudest noise.

"S… such horrid sounds… how could such grotesque noise possibly match against my music?" Shirabe quivered as she hid behind Beethoven.

"Heh… heh… heh… it's called a remix" Chisame stated through pants of breath. "I just put a few sounds together and then boom: I can make a totally new series. I call it… the Chi Chi Concert! (CCC) My pactio is like a portable laptop capable of downloading hundred of terabytes worth of information in a matter of seconds. I can even adjust sound velocity and other base sounds making me a one person concert" immediately, two giant speakers suddenly appeared behind Chisame adding to the sound wave that she produced.

But right before Shirabe could return the gloat, a sudden explosion sound echoed above them creating a small chain reaction to the entire cave system. Shirabe knew what this meant. An explosion of that caliber could only mean that Asuna had detonated the bomb which had been planted by a magical device beneath the surface. It wasn't enough to destroy the Ala Rubra that was for sure but it would certainly be a sight to see back up top.

"It appears… that this is my curtain call young Chisame. (Eh?) Too bad… I had hoped to at least slay half of you before returning to my main mission. But since my time is short, I will have to deal with this quickly" suddenly, the strings on her violin suddenly began to shake and with a single tap of her bow, echoes of sound emanated as if the violin became an electric-violin. The sound was so horrible that it was a miracle that Chisame's ears didn't bleed out yet. But during that concert, she noticed something happening to the walls of the cave. They were moving… or better yet… they were echoing.

This gave her a plan… but it was a high pitched risk…

"Eghh…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Chiu sama!" one of the mouse/hamsters called out. "If this goes on you'll be obliterated!"

"The sound system is on its last leg! We can't take much more of this!!!!"

"And the shield around you is breaking down Chiu sama!"

"I can see that!" she bellowed. "Get ready for the next one. Raise everything to the max! Prepare my special program!"

The mice squeaked in terror. Whatever that 'special program' was it was something that made even their artificial bodies tremble with excitement. "But Chiu sama… we thought you were saving that for a special occasion"

"I think this count as a special occasion. Get it done!"

They all saluted to their mistress and immediately began working. When the screen disappeared. The head mouse quickly ordered up the gang to formation. "Alright buddies, you heard Chiu sama! Prepare to run the super special program: Michi Michi Ma!"

YAY!!

With that one word, they all began working in bringing the program to fruition.

**(The crater)**

The moment passed very quickly for Negi. The moment the explosion occurred, the blast blinded him and his companions for a split second making them venerable to attack in which Asuna took to her leisure. While they were all shielding their eyes from the oncoming snow, Asuna slammed her halberd onto Ku Fei's stomach letting it stay there, pulling another from her back and then slammed it on Kaede in the same manner and then finally hitting Setsuna right on her nape neck. The blow shimmered around Negi giving him the slight tingle around his spine. By the time he opened his eyes again, all three of his students were flung to different corners of the battlefield.

"Setsuna! Kaede! Ku Fei!" but Negi quickly raised his hiten no tsurugi when he noticed Asuna was coming for him next. He parried two and three of the attacks but found himself withdrawing from battle. The conditions of his students terrified him but even if he wanted to help he could not. Asuna showed no remorse or hesitation in her strike. She struck again and again and would not stop until the boy lay on the pool of his own blood.

"Asuna…" Negi tried again to get a conversation going but sadly, it was only returned with a blow to his shoulder. "Why? Why are you doing this?"

A moment of pause came to the girl as he asked that question. That question always rung up in her. She may know the question, but the answer always changes. It was like it was a question that had more than one answer and with time alone, any of those answers can be true or false.

"I'm not like you Negi…" she stated out avoiding the whole question entirely. "I know what you must think of me right now… and I can hardly blame you for thinking so. (Wha…?) (Long pause) You know… whenever I looked back, I still can't believe how carefree I was. The time we spent in school, going to Tokyo, the Mahora festival and everything… it all seemed like a dream. Hmm… and I still believe that it was just a dream"

"But it wasn't a dream" Negi reasoned, lowering his guard just slightly. "Everything you did with us was real. You were there and so were all of us"

"And that is why Negi… you don't understand" Asuna grabbed two of the spears behind her and shook her head in response. "The things you saw were real because you knew everything from the start. While I…… I barely even remember where I came from to begin with. All that I could remember then: was that I lived in Mahora all my life and that I have never set foot outside of it even for a second. There is no place for me there. I do not have a home other but here"

"But you do have a home!" Negi reasoned pleadingly. "You have me, Konoka, Ayaka san and everyone! You don't just have a home, you have a family too!" he was already thinking of going down on his knee and beg her to come back. "Please, just return to us!"

"I can't……" came her hesitant answer. "There is still something that I must do… and goals that I must achieve. My place is here Negi in this world not there. As the legitimate heir to the throne of Vespertatia it is my duty to make sure that nothing like the Great War that raged twenty years ago would ever occur again"

"But what you're doing will destroy the world!"

Asuna again shook her head in response and soon turned her eyes to the boy. "No Negi… what we are doing… is going to save the world. With the power of Asgard and the Tower of Dawn, this world can be saved"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the other side of the battlefield, Setsuna struggled again to get up. The wound that Asuna inflicted upon her were not severe but it was enough to pin her down to the ground. The halberd stuck out of her stomach like a sore thumb and luckily this one didn't have any poison but it still hurt a lot. Blood oozed down from its cold hard steel and dripped right off the chain inking the snow beneath her in a red savory color.

"Ergghhh…" the girl limped on her chest moving her body to a sitting position. From there she could see Ku Fei and Kaede both knocked out, both had at least one weapon stuck on their bodies. They were slowly regaining consciousness just like her but the damage done to them made 'fighting or running' a near impossible task. This was a pathetic stance for those who called themselves the strongest of Negi's knights.

To the people who knew of that name, that title would just be something 'cool' to call Negi's companions since they are practically the strongest Ministra Magi in the known world. But that title alone was more than just a title for Setsuna, Kaede, Ku and Mana. That title was a limiter, a guideline which they are expected to perform to qualify as a member of the group. As members of the knights they were responsible for protecting Negi and aid him in any way possible.

Gathering her strength to her hand, Setsuna grabbed the weapon sticking out of her body and pulled it out. She groaned in pain but kept her voice to a minimum. At the center of the field she could see Negi conversing with Asuna again. The sound of the blowing wind was strong so it was impossible for her to hear but she could make out a few of the words by lip reading what they were saying.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Looks like our time is up Negi bozu" Asuna said finally her hair blowing towards the direction of the winds. "Time to end this…" her spears readied and her breathing steadied. The warrior princess and the magus prepared themselves for a clash. If one would see this battle from a distance they would believe to be a battle that could even make the great admiral Ricardo quiver in his boots. A battle where not strength, skill and speed can decide the outcome of the two.

"I…" Negi lifted his sword steadily but as he looked at his opponent, his heart kept telling him to withdraw. He shook the emotion away and focused clearly on the situation at hand. If Asuna wasn't going to come quietly then he will take her down and bring her back by force if necessary. With his mind in check and his heart clear of doubts he readied himself.

In a blink of an eye they clashed together at the center of the battlefield. The essence of power generated by the intercourse of their weapons send a powerful gush of wind through the crater wiping the snow away in mere seconds.

Asuna took a swing but Negi blocked it and countered with a punch but Asuna blocked it too. Their fight consisted of strike-block-counter and then strike-block-counter again and again and again. They knew then that their strength was evenly matched in power. Their focus was almost instant and their reflexes go a long way predicting each of their attacks.

With both of their skills evenly matched, the only way that either side could win was for someone to lose focus or tire out. So to sum it all in one sentence: This was a battle of concentration and stamina.

The fight went on for about ten minutes or so with neither side showing any signs of weakening or surrendering. But just when things were taking turn for a draw match, a sudden break exposed itself to Negi. He saw a flaw in Asuna's stance.

It resembled much of Setsuna's old stance except with a little modifications and added movements. She may have improved her speed with her reflexes alone, but as long as she is attacking, she leaves a single opening right beside her shoulder.

Not wanting to waste this new knowledge, Negi immediately put it out into action. He tap Asuna's attack away and immediately let go of his weapon giving the girl a false prediction of his move. Using only his bare fist and bones, Negi karate chop the princess's hands making her drop one of her spears and land two punches onto her arms and shoulder. She lost her balance and with one thrust of his magically enhanced knuckles he sent the girl flying to the ground. "Magia Houken!!"

Wham, Asuna flung to the ground her armor shredded to pieces like it was made of paper. It was like being hit by a 140mm gun at point blank range just missing your skin by a millimeter.

Setsuna herself seemed imperially impressed with Asuna's skills and strength. It has been honed to such a level that even she would pale in comparison. Though the young ronin had a hint of pride that her apprentice achieved to such a level in such a short time, there seemed a sense of irony for she was now probably their worst enemy.

When both opponents turned around to face each other again Setsuna noticed that they both were exhausted. That last combined attack took more of their energy than they thought and their breathings became slightly irregular from the stress caused by their bodies.

Asuna too was also impressed and she had hoped to defeat Negi when he was still caught off guard by her sudden return and new Pactio card. But now she had lost that momentum and was now facing against at odd with the boy.

"_Asuna…"_ Fate once again spoke in telepathically to Asuna. _"The time limit of your action has long since past. It is time to return"_

"_Not yet…"_ she spoke back trying to get the momentum back in her favor. _"Not until I defeat him…"_

"_Your thick headedness is outstanding princess…… but annoying"_ he warned now in a serious tone. _"From what I can tell from your eyes he has not even reach half of his full strength. If he wanted to… he could easily squash you with a palm of his hand. Your deadline is passed and the others cannot hold against the enemy for long. I am giving you a direct order Asuna… withdraw immediately and…"_

"Bah!" Asuna got tired of Fate telling her what to do so in an act of anger she cut off their communication and returned her focus on the battle.

**(The White Tower)**

Fate jerked his head away from his copy of Asuna's pactio card when she cut off their communication. It wasn't the most pleasurable feeling to feel a connection break so suddenly but he had wished that she would at least tell him before doing that.

"What's the matter Fate sama?" Tsukuyomi noted the boy's expression.

"She cut me off" he answered with an irritating brow raised. "I'm going to have to teach her some decency when she returns"

**(Back at the crater of Mt. Kael)**

"_I can beat him…" _Asuna thought quietly to herself while readying her artifact once more. _"If I'm fast enough and with just a little bit of luck, I can beat him"_ she gripped tightly on her weapon and gritted her teeth. She was determined to beat Negi no matter what the cost.

But before she could strike, Negi waved out his hand one last time, hoping to make the girl surrender. "Asuna, wait!" he called out stabbing his sword to the ground. "This match is mine! I have the high grounds and you are at a disadvantage! If you attack, I…"

"Words won't work here anymore!!!! HAAAA!!" but right before she was about to attack again… a creature of immense size and power suddenly decided to crash the party before it got any worst. "Eh?" its claws were sharp and as strong as steel, its feathers thick enough to withstand a cannon shot at close range and its eyes bore a curvy edge that pierces through one's soul.

Kweeeeee!!!!!

"No way…" Negi muttered in disbelief. "A gryphon? Here!?" the beast roared out in anger and immediately stomp its claw to the ground crushing whatever was beneath it.

Asuna put up her guard as she erected a shield around her. She had not expected the beast to appear here and now of all places and now it was ruining her plans. "Geh!" The winged creature slammed its claws at Asuna thrice before deciding to use its beak to cut through. "Why you little ingrate!" pissed off, the princess of twilight decided to show the gryphon a thing or two about power which she had in abundance. "You want snacks? Then take this on for size!!" she smacked her spear right across the monster's face but to her surprise it simply bounce back at her like it didn't feel any pain. "Wha!? No way!"

Kweee!!

"How about this then!" Asuna barked back in anger. "Blades of the Einherjar!" immediately ten spears appeared out around the gryphon then stabbing it in every direction. "How'd you like that!?" but the creature simply surprised her by snapping the weapons away with a single gesture of its wings.

With her momentum lost and what's left of her strength spent on that last few attacks, Asuna braced herself for a counter for she knew that the gryphon would only retaliate. And it did not fail to deliver. With a stab of its beak and a wave of its claws, it cut through Asuna's defense and pierced her leg. "Ahh!" she screamed in panic. As the beast moved in for its next attack, another surprise caught the girl off guard.

"Dextra emmitram!" a magic spear conjured out of lightning and air struck the gryphon by its torso sending to the snowy ground. To the princess's surprise, it was none other than Negi who came to her rescue. He had suddenly come out from his vantage point and struck a powerful attack on the beast. "Asuna, are you alright?" even with his own life at stake, Negi has not forgotten his role as a teacher and to ensure that his students' safety come as his first priority.

The boy prodigy extended his hand out to help but the girl refused to submit to his kindness. She tapped his hand away and glared at him with angry eyes.

Negi understood that their confrontation had not changed. They were still enemies but now that a strong foe had made itself apparent, it seems like they would have to set aside their anger and focus it on the one that wants them both dead.


	13. The Heart of the Knights

**Chapter 13: The Heart of the Knights**

Negi, Asuna and the knights of the Negimaru club stood in awe of the enemy that hailed before them. The legendary gryphon of Mt. Kael, the beast which was said to overrule dragons of the skies, the creature that was said to be neigh undefeatable, and monsters which were considered deities to many of the tribes.

Kweee!!

And right now… it did not look happy to see Negi or any of the puny humans beneath it and the blow that the mage did to it made it angrier.

"_According to master Eishun, the gryphon has a greatly higher resistance to magic than even the strongest dragons"_ Negi recalled what Konoka's father said to them before they departed on this mission. _"The only way to knock it out would be to strike it at its beak and cripple it. If I can strike it at the right point at the right time, I can take it down without hurting it too much"_

But before the boy could act, Asuna suddenly rushed out of her position to attack the gryphon. "HYYAAAAAA!!"

"Asuna! Wait, NO!" Negi tried to stop her but failed to do so.

When the princess flew in with her black raven wings and one thousand spears, the gryphon charged up something in its mouth which looked like some kind of beam and fired it at her. It was highly concentrated stream of magic capable of ripping through the hull of any warship of the empire. Negi realize then why gryphons were feared by the world so much. They were practically war beasts. If a hunter would be able to tame one then it would be no different than having a battleship as a pet living in the garage.

This attack also answered why there were so many destroyed ships littered at the base of the mountain. The gryphon must've thought that they were invading its territory and ripped them apart in the name of self defense. It also must've left the ship's remains to ward off would be travelers to past through this mountain.

"Hehhhh!!!!" but with Asuna's natural magic canceler, she simply bounce the blow off and continued onward, smacking the creature by the neck with an intent to kill it with one blow. But the gryphon did not falter and smashed her attacks away with its giant claws. "How about this!? Blades of the Einherjar!" the hundred spears that hovered behind the princess stopped in midair and by the next second they all struck at the gryphon, piercing it from hundreds of different angles at the same time. "Gloria van fro!" a lightning strike followed afterwards hitting the beast with a powerful bolt attack.

"Amazing…" Kaede muttered from afar. "That attack would've worked on me too if I fought against her. Striking at more than a hundred places at once will be quite difficult to dodge even at my strength and speed"

It wasn't long then till Negi appeared with a wounded Ku Fei on his shoulder and a limping Setsuna beside him. "Kaede san, are you alright?"

"Oh… Negi sensei"

"Hold on, don't speak" Negi insisted before analyzing her wounds. "Hold still for a minute. I won't be able to heal you completely but I think I can heal your smaller wounds" a small light flickered on his hand as he touched Kaede's leg. The warmth and pleasuring sensation emanating from it quickly eased the pain and after a few seconds, she was able to move again. "How does it feel?"

"A bit better" she answered moving her ankle a bit. "It doesn't hurt around the feet anymore"

"That's good" Negi then stood up and took a glance at the battle. Asuna was holding pretty well for herself, but it was only a matter of time before she loses her grip on the fight. The gryphon was indeed proving itself to be the legendary beast of the magic world as it said it would be and Negi couldn't tell if it was alone or part of a bigger flock. "Setsuna, Kaede, Ku Fei san" Negi called out to his knights which they turned to attention. The boy knew that things had not been going the way he planned and ever since Asuna came to the fray everything had been hectic. He doesn't know what happened to his father but right now his mission takes priority. "I must ask you all a favor"

"Eh?"

"I know things aren't going so well, but either way we must retrieve what we came for" he explained their original mission. "Focus on the gryphon and take its feather. Once you have that, run back to Theo san and regroup with the others" his tone was dead serious and it looked like he wasn't in the mood for kidding around.

"But… Negi sensei…" Setsuna was about to protest but Kaede stopped her.

"What about Asuna dono?" the kunoichi asked.

Negi closed his eyes for a minute and took a deep breath. There was that situation too. But what will he do? There standing before him stood one of his greatest goals in life. The Princess of Twilight. His student and friend once loyal to him and his cause now turned enemy. What was running through his mind as he gazed at the fight? If he aided Asuna, there would be a small chance that she would come back to them even though her memories had returned. But if she chose a different path. If she chose not to aid them… she will return to the enemy's side and the threat to the magic world will continue. It was a gamble choice for Negi and sadly… gambling was one of his weak points.

"_**There is… a third option…"**_

Negi winced for a moment as a thought entered his mind. An idea that was not his. A memory he did not experience. But it was indeed another choice.

He could kill Asuna…

The very thought of his sent waves of disgust through his entire soul. The mere mention of this idea sickened him. But he could not turn a deaf ear to it. It was a choice that would probably reflect upon his entire being. If he does kill Asuna or allow her to be killed, then the threat to the magic world would be over. Fate will not longer have the holding-chip he holds against them and without the princess his plans would fall into ruin. The world would be saved and the numbers of sacrifices would be kept to a minimal. It was a bargain option: One life to save thousands perhaps even millions. How could anyone possibly turn away from that option?

"Negi sensei?" Setsuna's voice broke through the boy's thoughts as he almost felt his mind slowly slipping into madness. He turned his gaze back to them but his thoughts clouded by judgment.

"Haaaaa!" Asuna again slammed her weapons onto the gryphon piercing its thick feathers like a battering ram besieging a reinforced wall. The strike made an effect but the creature simply shrieked it off and counter attacked with another one of its claws. "Tch!" Asuna then used a dozen of her spears to create a crude shield in front of her to absorb the impact. The shield failed but at least the damage done to her was not severe. "Grr… if that's how you like it then fine with me!" her resilience was amazing to say the least. Even after taking such punishment, she was still able to stand strong and tall.

"Kweee!!"

Asuna again steeled her resolve and prepared to fight. "The symbol of which brings just unto the world! I call upon thee to smite the wicked and bring fourth judgment! Gloreca!" a powerful ray of light flickered unto the air creating a mighty invisible explosion which smitten the gryphon, blinding everyone else in its glorifying aura.

**(The Great Paru Sama) (Outer Corridors)**

The light of the spell that Asuna cast could be seen and felt for miles across the mountain. The blinding flash was so radiating that it sent a pulse of power through the veins of all who noticed it. Haruna herself was not one who was very skilled with magic or the arts of such crafts, but her ability to see and sense such force was easily overlooked by her appearance. She was the first to notice the light from the ship and was the first to worry about a certain teacher who was still fighting for their sakes. "Negi…" she muttered silently in her combat suit. The flying enemies that were sent against her were still at large but she had already taken out the majority of them.

Though she had the will and the courage to aid the young boy, she could bring herself to do it. The fight above was far too important for her to be distracted. But as she mustered her weapons against those who remained to do the young teacher harm… anger and resentment and an uncertain feeling inside her heart fueled her strength to stand against them. "Alright you museum-ceramic-rejects! Bring it on! Come on forth: My army of perverted AT-kamikaze chamo!" she drew out (as in literally drew) her weapons and some flying Chamo suicidal bombers to aid in her defense.

"I am Chamo!" said one with a bomb stuck on its back.

"I am Chami!" said another with sticks of TNT on its paws.

"I am Chico!" said the third with a bomb strapped on its body wearing a green bandana, some camouflage makeup and puffing a cigarette. "Come on boys! Nobody lives forever YO! After today, we'll all be off to panty paradise!!!"

"Pantie!!!"

"Come on! The world of girl's lingerie awaits us!!!"

"HOOEEE!!!!"

**A/N: This is a clear violation of animal abuse and extreme perverts and it is ABSOLUTE that this act must NOT be attempted or mimicked by any readers or listeners who the readers are reading it aloud to. Secondly, (AT) stands can I either stand for Anti-Tank or Asaichi Tamai, the commander who formed the first official kamikaze unit in Japan during World War II.**

Shiori, who had Mana pinned to the ground, noticed the light a minute after Haruna felt it. She recognized it by the aura of the magic and grinned evilly to her prey. "It looks like your teacher has failed" she taunted. "That blast was powerful enough to obliterate anything within a ten meter radius. Can you not tell? Your master is probably on the ground bleeding to death right about now. It's such a pity that Tsukiyomi wasn't able to come with us. She would've enjoyed this battle far better than anyone" she let a blissful moan escape her lips before turning a dread eye to the gunslinger.

Mana herself didn't want to believe it, but the magic force that she felt a few seconds ago was indeed powerful. It nearly rivaled Negi's but not enough to seriously injure him. At least… that's what she thought. But the evidence of that blast proved that if he was hit by it on a point blank range then maybe… just maybe… he could be down on his stomach.

"Sensei…" she muttered in silent defeat even though the Geisha golem had its claws locked around her neck. "Ghhh…!"

"Oh… still trying to resist are you?" Shiori giggled with her mouth forming a sly grin. "Yes, please do. Such a hopeful death would make such a pretty stain on this ship. "Geisha, please finish her…"

The golem made a wide smile in reply and gladly obeyed. The monster opened up its sharp nailed mouth readying to gobble the girl up. In that very moment, Mana felt like she could do nothing more. Her strength was spent and her ammo used up except for one last bullet. Her pactio card remained beyond her reach and now she was out of everything. In both time and options. But before she submitted to the rewards of death… she noticed a broken pipe sticking out from the ship's mighty hull poking out of its gutter.

With her will to live just enough to hold herself together, the young mercenary pulled the crude weapon from its host and gladly shoved it right up Geisha's mouth, piercing through its hard metallic head. The creature let out a shriek and let go of its grip on Mana's throat to pull out the pipe stuck on its mouth.

Mana gave out a breath and inhaled air back into her lungs. She knew that this distraction would not last long and Shiori would be all over her in a matter of minutes. Luckily… fortune was by her side because when she pulled out that pipe from the hull, steam came out, fogging the entire outer deck with a thick mist of smoke.

"GRAHHHHH!!!"

Shiori quickly ordered Mirage to cover her up again enveloping her within its reflective mirrors. She thought that the gunslinger would use the cover of the fog to land a hit on her, but in truth Mana was busy just trying to stay alive.

The young girl slowly crawled out of the outer deck and onto the ledge. It was probably the stupidest place for anyone to hide. Though it was well concealed, it gave no way out and no way to lay a sneak attack on an opponent.

"Keh…" Mana let out a silent groan as she rubbed the red marks on her neck. The wound slowly began to let go but the sting of the creature remained on her skin. She touched the small cut on her arm and saw her own blood dripping on the windshield of one of the rooms. She humored herself to the time when Fumika dripped ketchup all over the living room and Haruna steamed off forcing the little girl to clean it up while in a maid costume. The old memory of that somehow eased her pain for a short while numbing the cut to the point where her skin turned blue.

But her happy thoughts were quickly ruined when she remembered right now she had more important things to worry about. Shiori will probably find her hiding spot in just a matter of minutes and when she does… escape will probably not be an option this time. Thinking that death could be just around the corner, she reached out for her pocket to take out her pactio card. But upon reaching it she realized that it wasn't there. In fact… her whole pocket seemed to be missing. She then recalled that the geisha golem used its hair to take her down. That must've been the time when it unconsciously removed her artifact from her leg.

"My artifact…" she mentally cursed herself for being so careless but resisted to shout out loud less she wanted to be discovered. With nothing left to lose in this battle, the young marksman turned to the small trinket that gave her courage and comfort. A locket that contained a photo of her previous master. It was the only thing that drove her forward during her time at Mahora. It was probably the only thing she had that connected her to her own past.

But as she reached for that little locket… she soon realized that it too… was no longer there. The little blue trinket that hung around her was gone. Missing… if a better word for it exists. It was surprising that she did not notice it missing before. It could not have fallen far, but with all the explosions and fighting that has been happening for the past ten minutes, it could be possible that it may have blown off the starboard bow.

It was that very moment that Mana felt every bone in her body quivering with fear. That artifact was supposed to be her last ace in the hole to finish off her enemy was gone and the only thing that gave her the will to move on was that locket. With both of them gone at the same time she was now unarmed and hunted like an animal hiding from its hunter. And it was then that a familiar haunting feeling suddenly began to make its appearance back in her heart. She recognized this feeling. It dreaded her. It demoralized her and even now… it was breaking her.

Powerless…

Mana tried to hold herself not trying to breakdown, but lost it entirely moments later. She soon fell onto her knees her body curling into a ball her knees on her chest and her arm wrapped around her leg. She felt hopeless, weak… and vulnerable. And never before she thought that she would feel the cold tears from her eyes again. "H…" Even though her voice was weak, her words of plea… was clear. She begged the light in the sky, the moonlit shadow in the distance and the hallow winds in the air for aid. For someone to hear her… for someone to answer her distress in exchange.

"Please… someone… anyone… Negi sensei……" she muttered, tears threatening to burst from their dams in a matter of seconds. "Help me…"

**(Mt. Kael slopes)**

"Garyuu inugami iryuu juuka ougi!" (beast transformation technique!) Kotaro in a surge of anger quickly decided to pull out one of his strongest cards and turn himself into a beast to fight against Homura and her flame golems. Luckily for him, his pactio card was able to adapt to his K9 features and covered all parts of his body save his tail and lower jaw just for that biting quality.

"You really don't know when to quit do you?" the fire mage beckoned with him raising an irritated brow.

"Hey! Once you train with a hard headed brat for awhile you tend to absorb a few bad habits" he smirked in his wolf like snarl. "Being persistent was probably the only thing that kid was good at!"

"Then you'll die as an ignorant fool you are! Giga flare!" the girl's hair suddenly lit aflame and sent a strong stream of fire towards the wolfboy. But as always his armor absorbed some of the attack.

"Aww crap" he cursed inwardly to himself. "Me and my big mouth. I shouldn't have changed into my wolf form too soon, I lost too much stamina on that process. Damn… I feel like I'm burning up on the inside" and he wasn't kidding. He could already feel like his own stomach was going to burst. And just when he couldn't hold it any longer, his breath started to feel like… fire.

In a move that surprised everyone, the wolf boy let out a burp that looked more like a flamethrower being fueled by organic gas. Homura saw this and quickly ordered Firaga to shield her.

"Whoa!" Theo saw the flame and was impressed on how Kotaro turned the mage's own element against her.

"Burrppp…" Kotaro burped out the remaining gas out of his mouth followed by a few coughs. But afterwards he was followed by a few questions that rung in his head. "Well that was new"

Chamo who also noticed the boy's new found power immediately remembered what he saw in the pactio card. "Ahh! Now I get it!" the perverted ermine yelped in Konoka's hands. "That's a magic absorbing armor!"

"Magic absorber?" Theo shot a curious eye at the ermine.

"Yeah! It's kind of like what aniki did with Rakan back at the tournament!" Chamo explain. "Any kind of magic attack that armor takes will turn it into a compatible version to the user! It's not as good as aniki's but if you use it right then you can turn the enemy's strength into their own weakness!"

"But to make it compatible, the magic has to be unrefined" Satomi thought up to the calculations. Even though she was a person who sold her soul for ultimate knowledge in science she was not blind to the course of magic. After being with Chao Lingshen and Evangeline for a few years she began to understand the concept and forms of magic and even tried to mix it in her own field of science and logic. "If a magic is purified, it becomes pretty unstable to be redone over and over again"

"Indeed" the little Chachamaru nodded in her small temporary body. "That is why I have a winder in my old body to re-supply my magical energy"

"Yeah, that's why the magic that he gets only works half way" Chamo added. "It takes the refined magic and breaks it down back to its old raw state. It won't be as powerful as the original but instead you'll be wasting your enemy's energy rather than your own!"

"So it's kind of like a plug adaptor?" Konoka put it in a plain explanation of changing a 220 volt to a 110 volt. (This problem happens a lot when people transfer from country to country)

Both Chamo and Satomi gave out a sweat drop to the idea but I guess that kind of example can be used to make it all simpler.

But as Theo noted this she quickly got an idea that might just turn this battle in their favor. "You three" she called out to the backup unit. "I'm gonna try something a little stupid so I want you guys to get out of this mountain slope as quickly as possible and try to reestablish contact with your friends. (But… Theo san…) Go! I can't hold this barrier for too long and this fight is going downhill real soon!"

Satomi reluctantly accepted her terms and quickly took Konoka by the arms and lead her to the safe area along with Chamo and Chachamaru.

Once they were out of sight, the princess of Hellas slowly lowered her shield and readied a small spell incantation in her hand. Then when Homura and her golems were still busy recovering, she got next to Kotaro and let out a small sigh.

"Oh, it's you" Kotaro groaned. "What do you want? I'm a little busy here"

"Sheesh even after all that's happened you're still that rude kid" Theo let out a groan of her own. "I'm gonna do something that might just work. So just get ready to attack on my mark" Kotaro didn't know why but he decided to follow the princess's instructions this time. He had to admit that the fight surely wasn't going his way and if this continues then he would surely lose.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" then suddenly, the wolf boy felt his armor glowing with some sort of cold magic energy. "Wha?"

"I'm converting the snow around me to magic" Theo explained still holding her hand at his armor. "The girl you're fighting is an expert in fire magic. If you use her magic against her it will barely make a scratch on her. Instead you'll use my magic to counter it. Water and fire cancels each other. I don't know how long this will last but this should at least give you an edge on the field"

"Tch" Kotaro let out a grin in his wolf form. "What's this? Are you actually putting your trust on me princess?"

"Just shut up and fight… dog breath"

"Hoo… well this is interesting" Homura taunted waving her hand around. "A hanyo demon and a princess from a powerful empire against me? A strange combination, but let see how it works out shall we?"

**(The caves)**

Chisame stood her ground that night. The barrier that she summoned up was ripping to shreds and what little remain of her magic was depleting rather quickly. Shirabe had barraged her with a sound wave for powerful that even a bat's supersonic hearing would go deaf from it. The caves echoed loudly and repeated the same sound again and again and it wouldn't be long until the whole place came down on them.

"Ughh…" she let out a groan as her DJ board finally dropped to the ground. It was in shambles but of course that was only one of her many weapons in her arsenal. "Damn. I guess that last blow took a lot more out of me than I thought it would. My legs are wobbling and I can barely even stand on my own two feet"

"I applaud you" Shirabe said suddenly which surprised the net idol girl. "You managed to withstand my sound longer than any normal human. By now a regular high level mage would've been on his knees or ripped to shreds already but you are still intact"

"Heh was that a compliment or some kind of word of wisdom?" Chisame forced out a painful laugh. Her body was full of bruises and scars and blood dripped down from her skin like water on rock.

"Make no mistake. That was a compliment" the violinist answered. "Though your sounds may have perverted my music, your resolve and attempts to outmatch me certainly have not gone unnoticed. If you had hone that skill for a year or two, you might make it into an art one of these days"

"Hehe…"

"But I'm afraid I will have to snuff that little art out today. Forgive me… but my mission takes priority" and just when Shirabe was about to strike her string again, Chisame noted a small squeaking sound coming from the back of her head.

"Chiu sama! The program is ready!"

"Alright then!" immediately, Chisame decided to make it a do or die fight. With her life hanging by a thread and with so many lives counting on her she was prepared to give it her all. In a matter of seconds a great light suddenly emanated around her and just like magic several large surround sound stereos appeared. Hell even the whole cave itself was filled with these little sound makers which were connected to a single microphone.

"What is…?" Shirabe herself was speechless. Was the girl still planning to fight even though there was little hope in winning? "What are you planning this time!!?"

"A little orchestra of my own… you little second rate violinist wannabe!!" she took a deep breath and with all the might she could muster in her lungs, Chisame yelled into the microphone and allowed the sound to echo through like a million megawatts of electricity running through the entire cavern. In moments, Beethoven and Rhapsody, being made by stone and magic as they were, could not withstand the sound waves emanating from the walls. The echo came over and over repeatedly and within seconds, they shatter, leaving nothing but dust in their wake

"Ahhh!!!" Shirabe took the full force of the attack and cover her ears to plug the sound out. It was obvious that she could not take much more of it. "N… no… how could I have been… beaten!?" she quickly took out her Pactio card and chanted a few words on it. "Fate sama… forgive me…" and with that she vanished, signaling the victory of the first battle.

Once Chisame realized that she had won, the magic she let out was immediately canceled. She fell on her knees in complete exhaustion and soon she was on her stomach. Her body numbed from the fight. "Ughh…" she groaned. "Looks like that's it for me. If sensei calls… don't try to wake me up" she blinked her eyes a few times… and fell into a deep slumber afterwards.

**(Back with Negi)**

Asuna smiled triumphantly as she saw the gryphon took the head beating of her magic. Though her magic was not as close of being compatible with Negi, it was powerful enough to lay the legendary bird to waste. Heck, even the team's mighty self proclaimed: Invincible Man would feel something through that steel body of his. The great beast now lay on the ground, its body tattered with wounds and its hardened skin ruined beyond recognition.

Even Negi and his knights were awestruck. The great princess Asuna had just defeated their primary target… or so they thought for a moment there. When Asuna turned around to gloat at the boy, the gryphon stood back up again, its eyes determined to defeat the said princess. She dodged the attack but just barely. Her armor that was already ripped to shreds were barely holding each other together and her thin layer of cotton clothing inside would not be enough to handle such powerful claws.

"Why won't you just stay down you stupid bird!?" she sent her flying blades at it and pierced the creature on all sides, but the gryphon simply brushed them away using its wings to create a turbulence in the wind. "Haaaa!" Asuna fired several magic balls at it, but just like the blades they simply bounced off from the wing's "Why? Why!? Why won't you just die!!" with anger raging within her voice, the princess quickly charged up all her magical energy into one glorious strike. It was an attack that would end the battle surely.

But that was a fatal flaw in her plan. Since she was still a novice in the arts of magic despite regaining her memories, she wasn't able to focus on controlling her energy properly. In such, it took her far longer time to bring her full power together. This was an opportunity the gryphon knew that he could not waste. Raising its claw to the air, it let out a squeak before throwing it down to the princess.

Asuna closed her eyes, awaiting for the impact that she was sure to end her life… but it never came. Instead she heard a loud clang sound just a few meters in front of her. She opened her eyes seconds later widened… with uncertainty to be surprised or relief. Negi stood there… one arm holding a barrier so powerful that it didn't even looked like a regular shield. There were runes all around it, seeping an aura that beckoned with so many feelings. Beside those runes stood another magical incantation pillar which only the user and those inside the barrier may see. It provided a leveling ground for the caster and even if the shield should break, the pillar would erect fifteen more protective wards making it almost impossible to penetrate unless it was blasted with six direct nuclear hits.

"N… Negi?"

"Kaede san, now!" Negi ordered which prompt the girl to look in the direction where the boy's knights were resting.

Setsuna, Kaede and Ku were all sitting in seiza stances within another powerful barrier just like the one Negi is holding now. Around them was some sort of magic seal that the ninja used to use their powerful chakra abilities.

And that was probably just what Kaede was doing. "Yosh! Here we go!" the kunoichi beckoned. "Setsuna, Ku dono… focus your energy on the seal!" the two warriors obeyed and quickly began focusing whatever energy was left in their bodies onto the rune around them. Whether it was magic or plain stamina, they spared no price. They flushed everything out and placed it where it belonged. "I hope this works" Kaede placed her hand on the seal and her free hand forming a sign. "Shinobi no ninjitsu ka re! Gahakona no jutsu! (Power transfer jutsu!)"

Immediately the strength that Negi spent in the past hour began to return to him. The energy drained from his knights slowly began to flow into his own revitalizing all his lost power. And now that he was back in full strength and a reservoir of energy feeding directly into his body, the boy didn't have to worry about cutting himself loose. With his right hand removing the erected barrier, he leaped onto the beak of the gryphon and pounded it right where it hurt the most. He slammed his hand onto the beast and another onto its stomach. Following that was his favored technique, the spears of judgment which pierced against the gryphon's wings pinning it to the ground.

"Haaa!" the child teacher readied his fist. "Magia Erabea, plus Setsuna, Kaede and Ku sensei's power! Equals………" he fired his balled energy to the monster, hitting it while it was down. "Kaseku hoken!!! (combination of the three girls' names combined)" the blow this time was so powerful that it knocked half the crater, clean off the mountain.

But even after suffering much punishment from the boy, the gryphon still refused to surrender. It stood back up with its beak still in tact. However… Negi expected such dignity from such creature. It indeed held its reputation of being the most powerful creature in the magic world. To be able to endure to such extent that even castles may fall… it still managed to get back up. There was indeed an honor to be given to such beings.

"Kweeee!!"

After recovering from the recoil of that last blow, the gryphon quickly paced itself towards Negi, trying to end this fight as quick as possible. The young teacher gladly accepted its offer and went against it head on. The boy's mind was now clear. The thought of that third option was quickly thrown aside like rubbish. How could he even begin to conflict with himself on such ideas? Asuna may be the princess of a nation and the one who would probably bring about the destruction of the entire magic world… but she was still his student. That reason alone was more than enough to settle Negi's mind. His duty as a teacher came beforehand and even though he and the princess would not agree… it was still his duty to protect her and bring her safely back to Mahora before school starts.

"Haaaa!!" the battle raged between demigod and beast. Negi's strength favored greatly in the match as the two exchanged powerful attacks against one another. But within that battle, Asuna finally realized that the gap between her strength and Negi was non existent. Within just two seconds, he could conjure up a spell that could very well be more powerful than anything she could throw at him. True her natural magic cancel ability had its uses comparing it Negi's… it was like trying to measure up the size of an ant and a lion.

But that was how Asuna truly felt. She felt like nothing more but an ant compared to Negi's might. He truly lived up to his father's name of The Thousand Masters and heck he could probably take on a nation with one hand tied behind his back.

"Orrryaaaa! Saizuken!!" Negi roared as he elbowed the gryphon by the neck. "Iai technique, kawazaki!" he used his magic to conjure up a lightning sword through his hand and slash it against gryphon creating a massive burnt scar on the neck. "Kaede's signature move: kage bunshin henge no hoken!!!" using the combination of ninjitsu and the art of magic, Negi split himself into six individuals all casting one powerful spell to the next. One was charging another lightning spear, two were preparing wind fists and the remaining two protected the original one with a powerful barrier while Negi himself began chanting the Thousand Bolts.

The gryphon could sense the immense concentration of magic and energy and began to take evasive maneuver. But Negi would not allow that. His clone quickly used the spears of judgment to pin it again to the surface and the others two casters to keep it there so that it would remain there even if the attack was dismissed. "Haaaaa!!!" after a minute of incantation, a magic circle appeared around the gryphon, causing Asuna to stare at it in awe.

"_What? How? When did he make that giant magic circle?"_ she was puzzled. Completely convinced that if she was caught in that trap, there was no way she could ever recover from that blow unless given a large amount of healing magic.

"Sim Fabricatus Ab Incendo!" a surge of electricity ran through the boy's arm as he thrust his palm onto the gryphon. The attack focused on disrupting the creature's internal organs thereby defeating it from the inside. "Khilipl astrape!!!" a thousand bolts of lightning pierced through the foggy sky, surging the whole field in a bright light that made the lunar moon look like a light bulb for a split second. The blast lasted for amount ten seconds at best before the light finally seeped down into nothingness. There, the gryphon stood, blood seeping down from its body for the first time in many years.

Negi stood in front of it, still with the serious look on his face. He had used up a lot of magical energy in that last devastating attack and he was amazed that the creature was able to take it head on with just a few scratches. If it were Rakan, it may have caused a major problem for him. But knowing his indomitable body reinforced with pure willpower, it was possible for him to withstand it and still laugh about it on a later occasion.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

However, on the other side of the field, the three knights could only concentrate in the magic circle as they watch their beloved teacher smother the beast with power they could barely comprehend. They were proud and amazed by his power and even believed that he could become even more powerful than he was now.

"This feels weird aru" Ku Fei noted the slight feeling on her body. Even though she wasn't doing anything, she felt herself getting weaker and weaker as Negi continued his relentless attacks.

"Ah… don't move too much Ku Fei dono" Kaede warned. "This magic circle drains all kind of energy, so it's best to just relax for awhile" the kunoichi returned to her seiza stance and continued focusing her powers to the seal. "But I'm amazed though" she stated to Setsuna. "I was surprised that Negi bozu was able to come up with a spell like this"

"It's actually a reverse engineered version of the 'taiindou' spell" the ronin replied. "The same spell that Negi sama used to defeat Rakan san during the tournament. It drains the spiritual and magical energy into the seal and sends it directly to the caster. It was something that sensei was working on when we were having our training in the city. He usually needs me to feed energy into the seal constantly but never got it to work because I'm not that good with magic"

"So that's why you asked me to use my ginjutsu on the seal" Kaede realized. Her hand slightly flung around to ease the tension.

"Yes… since your ninjutsu techniques are closer related to this world's magic, you had a better chance in activating it" she lowered her guard a little bit, knowing well that the shield around them would protect them from harm. "Besides, you have more magical reserves than you know so it isn't a surprise that you can activate it"

"Hoo? Really? Then maybe I should change my career to become a mage then degozaru" Kaede then had an image pop into her mind. She would trade in her ninja tights and weapons for a magic robe and staff or a wand maybe. The mere thought of it made the other two imagine her being some kind of magic girl in the cartoons.

But then Ku Fei suddenly sensed more danger coming their way as she heard flaps of wings coming Negi's direction. "Ahh! Everyone, look! M… more flying bird things!" the two warriors whirled their heads around and noted to her truth. Just as Negi's Thousand Bolts was finished, two more gryphons the same size and height as the first one appeared, as if called upon by the sound of battle.

"Two of them!?" Setsuna looked horrified. Her heart stopping for a split moment at the sight that transpired. "This isn't good" one gryphon was powerful enough to wear Negi down and now two more came by to take its place.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Negi too seemed rather disheartened at the sight of this. His body was still severely wounded from his battle with Asuna earlier and the golem army and even though he was still in full power thanks to the reserve energy from his knights… he didn't know how much longer they would last from the constant draining of energy.

Taking advantage of their surprised appearance, the two gryphons quickly began charging magical beams in their mouths. Negi noted this and quickly erected a barrier to protect himself from the blast. But then he soon noticed that Asuna was still standing there, weakened by the first gryphon she fought. Using some extra energy left, the boy expanded his barrier even further, covering the princess around its protective shielding. When the creatures unleashed their power against him, Negi had to grit his teeth just to try and ignore the pain.

As the shield expanded, it became harder to maintain its strength. Negi felt himself weaken slightly little by little and he knew that if he wanted any chance of holding out… he would have to become stronger. "Grrrrhhhhh!!!!"

A crack formed at the center of the barrier showing signs of weakening. Negi filled the gap with another shield but at the cost of more energy being spent. He felt his shield weakening and his arms growing ever so tired.

"_**Let the rage in your heart fuel your strength"**_ came a voice inside his head which snapped the boy back to his senses. He had heard this voice before. Though he could not remember when, he was sure that this wasn't the first time he heard it. _**"Come Negi…… let the fires that burned your village become your very own weapon. Embrace the darkness once more… and unleash your true potential. Be the beast that you were meant to be!"**_

The encroachment of the Magia Erabea soon became apparent as flame of pure black crawled onto his neck. It crept into him, as if it was trying to seduce him into a pleasurable submission. And slowly… Negi began to lose control over himself. His magic was waning, becoming tainted by the darkness. Every second of that torture felt like an eternity of stinging, piercing and combing. Soon… his eyes began to give out and his muscles wavered by the call of slumber. Inside that darkness… he could hear the roar of the Darkova echoing from within, grinning all the while.

"I feel… so… tired…" Negi was able to let out his voice. His mind slowly coming to a state of complete blank. "My body… is…"

"Rest now, Negi…" the voice in his head continued. Behind the voice the boy could hear the song of a lullaby that soothed his ears. It felt welcoming. Like the song of a mother he never knew. The warmth he longed for was just within his reach and slowly he extended his arm to reach for it. _**"Come Negi… you have done enough…… sleep… and let the burdens of the world lift from your shoulders. (pause) You need not worry about anything… anymore… I will take care… of everything for you"**_

**(The Great Paru Sama)**

"Come out come out wherever you are" Shiori cooed seductively to her prey as she searched the outer deck for her. "I know you're here Mana chan. There's no use hiding. I can sense you even a mile away" she ordered Geisha to scour around trying to pry every last area where the girl could hide. "Stay wherever you like dearie, but I will find you eventually. If you want to play hide and seek then you'll have to play under my terms" the girl then began wrecking everything. From floor tiles to window balconies and mere mirrors everything. Not even the antenna which the gang used to send long distance radio calls were sparred.

Mana on the other hand remained where she was. Without any means to defend herself all she could do was curl herself and place her head between her knees. It was only a matter of time before her enemy finds her and eliminates her from existence. She could feel the golem's nails tingling through the metal surface on her back. Shiori was scanning the area with her magic abilities. On the outside, Mana could see that the weapons of the ship had already been activated so it meant that the ones inside must've repelled the borders and began to take the fight to the enemy.

With death clinging right next to her, the gunslinger sighed out to herself and placed her hand onto her wounded arm. There were pieces of glass littered around her and a shard sticking right next to her leg. She took it out and took a good look at herself. There were several scratches in her left cheek forming an X mark down right to her neck. If she survives this, it would make one cool looking scar to show off.

"You're making me sad here Mana chan" stated the copying mage as she let out a fake yawn. "If you intend to stay alive long enough for your little teacher to help you then you'd best abandon that hope. The boy is probably laying on a pool of his own blood begging for someone to end his miserable life. He was weak to begin with and always will be. He may have the power that could match Fate sama, but inside he's nothing more but a son of a coward and orphaned by the queen of calamity. He deserves to die… as a martyr for those who have lost their lives in the great war"

Mana bit her lip hard to keep herself from speaking. It was clear that the girl was trying to draw her out by taunting her with insults and seduction and surprisingly… it was working. But the gunslinger held herself together. Her tears begged to come out again but she held them in. In an attempt to hold her mind longer, she gazed onto the glass shard in her hand and focused her attention onto it, drowning out the sound and the wind that blew through.

She did not know if she was going mad or if it was an illusion, but the moment she placed her focus onto the shared, Mana saw not her face… but Negi's. In fact, she could see him in each of the glass piece scattered around her. His face was small but all the features that described him were there. He was saying something but she could decipher what words came from his lips. But the moment she saw his face, all her worries and fear suddenly melted away.

It was she remembered the time when she and Negi worked together. All the trials they went through, all the suffering. She then realized that her life was not really that different from the boy. They both lost things that they've loved before and have sacrificed their own happiness for the gain of others. They had the tendency to push themselves beyond their limits and reach goals no one else dared try. For a brief moment then… Mana believed that she found someone she could actually relate to. Someone who knew how she felt and what she had gone through. The experiences were harsh… but that is what made them into what they are now.

"Hmm…" a rare smile flashed to her lips as the image of the boy vanished. She pondered in her mind that how nice it would be to have a nice chat with him again with a nice cup of tea and some snack along the way. How good it would feel to simply sit with him and enjoy each other's company. But just as she glanced onto the mirror… a thought came about her head. _"Wait… mirrors?"_ an idea plopped in. A risky one, but it was still worth a shot.

With renewed vigor born of a desperate heart with hopes of keeping those she did not want to lose, Mana gathered up her strength and the glass shard in her hand and appeared before Shiori and her golems.

"Oh?" to say the least the girl was surprised. "Decided to end your suffering I see"

"No…" came her stern and slightly irritated answer. Her face held an expression of anger and resentment towards the mage. "You can insult me witch…" she began with a step forward. "You can insult my pride, you can insult my skill…… but do not ever… ever… speak ill of my teacher" she took the shard out and showed it to the girl.

"Is that your final weapon of choice?" the copy mage giggled expecting better from such a renowned mercenary such as her. "You've become desperate"

"Not really…" the gunslinger replied with her lips forming a feint smirk. "It's just a hunch I thought of" in a move that would've made the gods raise a brow, Mana willfully stabbed her leg with the glass shard. The pain was bearable and result came far quicker than she had expected.

There was a crack on Mirage's body. More like a wound caused by some sort of presence. "Aghhh!" Even Shiori and Geisha were affected by this sudden development and were quick to realize that they too had been stabbed. "W… what is this!?"

"I was… right… ehhh…" Mana groaned pulling out the shard from her leg. "No matter what kind of attack I give, it would always return to me. A wise man… erghh… once told me: Do not do unto others what you wish not to be done to yourself" she paused for a moment, trying to get a moment's breath. "But…… they never said anything about… do what unto yourself what you wish done to others" she pulled out a sharpened pipe near her foot and quickly drew it to her stomach. She was going to perform seppuku!

"Y… you fool! What do you think you're doing!?"

"The very same thing my teacher does on a daily basis!" was her answer. "Never! Ever! Speak of him ever again!" and with that she thrust the pipe onto one side of her stomach and screamed the pain out. "Arghhaaaaaaa!!!!!"

"Ahhhhhhh!!"

"Grweeeeee!!!!!"

"Rarrrghhhh!!!!!!"

In a matter of seconds, the golem Geisha shattered into pieces by the effects of Mirage's mirror pointing at her. Shiori too felt the pain creeping in her stomach and she could not take it a second longer. "Y… you!!" she gritted her teeth tightly together as blood seeped out of her mouth. A second later, Mirage broke down and was lost to the winds of Mt. Kael. "Argghh! I… I'll remember this… Don't think even for a second that you've won! The final battle… rghh… is still days away! You will not succeed!" grabbing her pactio card, the girl escaped… vanishing in a surge of light.

With the sight of her victory… Mana could not help but smile. She had just won a battle she did not expect to win. Even after losing all manner of hope and will to win… she was able to grasp just a bit of strength from her teacher. She pulled out the pipe from her stomach and quickly threw it out. Though her wound was deep, the pain wasn't all that bad. It was probably because of the effects of triumph. Grinning like a hyena that had just found its tickle bone, Mana laid her back on the wall and waited. Her fight against this enemy was over… now it was time for the others to do their part.

"Negi sensei…" she muttered with her cold breath. "Thank you…"

**(The slopes of Mt. Kael)**

Kotaro and Theodora faced off with one of Fate's strongest pactio partner, Homura. With the combination of the princess's magic and his armor they had made the wolf boy into an elemental knight capable of dishing out different kind of attacks. He was firing cold minty breath from his mouth, ice beam from his claws and even with a simple focus of energy he can make a spike of ice appear in thin air!

"Rahhhh!!" though the fire mage did not want to admit it openly, she had to admit that she was truly being fought back into a corner. Her golem elites were being pounded by Kotaro's new found power and the princess provided him with an ample supply of magic. All of her offensive and defensive strategies to fight the dynamic duo were countered in almost every way. Where Kotaro was the muscle in this fight, Theodora must've been the brain. After attack after attack had failed to do any real damage… Homura withdrew back to her side of the battlefield and noted the presence of two of allies' defeats.

"Shiori… and Shirabe?" he muttered while sensing the disappearance of her friends. "They were defeated?"

"Oi oi!" the wolf boy called out. "Don't get distracted now. We're still in a fight, remember?" he threw an ice javelin at the girl which she simply melted away with a large fire.

Knowing that the battle was slowly shifting against them, the fire mage thought that it would be best to withdraw now. "Don't let it get to your head little pup" she stated while her golems returned to her side. "Just because you won this battle doesn't mean you can win the next. Next time, you won't be so lucky to have someone watching your back all the time"

"H… Hey! Come back here you runt!"

"Toodles puppy… we'll settle this on the next round" putting her pactio on her head, the mage and her golems vanished from plain sight.

"Oh no you don't!"

"Kotaro, don't!" Theo yelled out stopping the boy in his tracks. "Don't bother chasing her. She can't cause harm to where she is now. And we have a more pressing issue to work on" she turned her attention to the side where she saw sensed a high concentration of magical energy. There were only a few people who could possibly perform that kind power and Negi was one of them. "Come on. If we hurry we might be able to catch up with Negi and the others!"

**(Negi's Mindscape)**

Negi's soul floating around fleetingly in mid air, his body dangling around following no particular route to no end. His eyes were half open but he could not see anything. He felt so weak and so tired but he could not sleep. There was something lingering at the back of his head screaming, telling him to wake up and get back into the fight. It was ringing, perhaps even begging him if the voice echoed any louder. But before the boy could raise his body to stand again… he felt a hand suddenly rubbing the back of his head. It did not scare him or surprised him. In fact… it was actually quite relaxing. Like one of those good spa massages you get from first class missus.

"Shh…" a feminine voiced hushed him. "You don't need to think. Rest now Negi. You've done so much already. You deserve you're rest"

"Ughh…" Negi tried to resist it at first, but the warmth was just too good to resist. He felt himself drifting further into slumber and slowly his eyes began to close.

But just when sleep was about to engulf our favorite ten year old teacher, another voice echoed in from behind catching his attention. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Negi widened his eyes just slightly and saw the six year old version of himself standing a few feet in front of him. He was puzzled. Was he dreaming again? "Yeah, I'm talking to you" the mini-Negi added puffing his cheeks in a cute manner. "Sleeping on the job again? That's not nice of you"

"W… who… are you?" Negi muttered out his eyes closed to submission.

"Even a mouse can answer that question" mini-Negi answered bluntly. "I'm you! But more importantly, what are you doing sleeping!? Don't you remember what's going on!? You got a fight to win and sleeping on the job isn't gonna cut it!"

"But I'm… so… tired…"

"We've been through tougher things that this!" little Negi replied putting his hands on her waist. "Don't tell me that the son of the great Thousand Master is gonna submit to mere birds now. You and I are made of stronger stuff! You can win this if you just keep your head in the game. The Darkova is taking over your body again and that darkness is gonna destroy you if you don't take charge of things!"

"But… what can I do? I'm just a boy"

"We're more than that" the mini-Negi answered, lips forming a smile. "We… are Negi Springfield, the child prodigy. You may not be as strong as Rakan or the guy next to him, but we're still the toughest kid around the block. So stand up! We an't gonna let some dark monster from your heart take over. This is our body and we were first to take it so it's our pleasure to use it as we please! Stand up!"

"Grhhhaaaaa…" a growl emanated from the rear, causing the two of them to turn to the Darkova behind them. It was the pinnacle of Magia Erabea itself, a creature born from the fear, sadness, hatred and anger lurking inside the boy's heart.

"The Darkova…" Negi muttered trembling slightly at the creature. "Is this…"

"This is the embodiment of your darkest emotions" mini-Negi finished. "Though all the suffering and pain you've accumulated, this creature had been feeding off it, growing more in power every day. It took over us once before and its powers allow us to become even stronger than our father. Even now it struggles to break free… but only when we sleep, can it finally take over. You and I cannot destroy it for it is a part of us that must exist. Everyone has a Darkova sleeping inside them but unlike ours, they are all tamed and well enough in control"

"Then why is ours so powerful?"

"It is because the stronger we become, the stronger our Darkova. And thanks to Magia Erabea, we become reliant on it. No matter what happens… we cannot allow the Darkova to take over us again. For if we let it then no one… not even our friends… will be safe"

Upon remembering the battle that occurred with his father in his hometown, Negi immediately dread upon the thought of himself going berserk again. Back then, when the Darkova was unleashed his mind was bent alone on destroying his only father and ripping his body to shreds. It was fortunate of him that he didn't harm any of his students back then, but the same may not be said the next time the beast unleashes itself. True, the power he felt then was anything he could've imagined and with it he could probably outwit Fate any day. But was the risk worth the cost? Was such unstable power really worth the destruction that would follow after? That was something even Negi could not foretell.

But there was something in that creature that Negi wanted.

Power…

When he recalled the first time when Darkova enveloped him, he remembered that this power was the very thing that almost killed his old man. This beast, this source of power that could easily overcome the Thousand Master was not something that anyone could easily ignore. The only problem was that it was unstable and unreliable. But if he could control this beast… this dark hellish monster then he would have the power he longed for.

"How do I control it?"

Mini-Negi's eyes widened upon hearing those words. "We cannot…" he answered. "The Darkova is one of the purest forms of energy. There is no possible way to control, only contain it and allow its powers to slowly seep into you"

"I have to control it" Negi insisted. "If I want to defeat Fate… I will need this kind of power. The power to surpass my father"

"That power is gained through time" mini-Negi added trying to convince the boy to turn a blind eye to the offer the beast was unintentionally giving. "With time Negi… we can become stronger. Go back to the mortal world. We have friends to save and time is not on our side"

But Negi was no longer listening to the words of his subconscious. He was now desperate. Knowing that all of his friends were in mortal danger and Asuna, one of his closest friends was just in reach. If he could have this power and contain it… then he would have nothing to fear. To control his own fears and use it as a weapon…

"I will… become stronger…" as Negi extended his arms to reach out to the creature, his miniature version quickly backed away knowing the danger that was to come. But even though he had warned his older self not to go for the darkness, the little subconscious couldn't help but give out a sinister grin.

When Negi's hands touched the Darkova's face, he could already feel the power surging into him. It was immense and obviously something beyond his control. But even though he knew that there was no way to control this power, he tried anyway… hoping by some miracle that he would somehow be able to find a trick into getting this creature to obey.

"Raagghhhh!!!!"

Negi gritted his teeth as the pain finally surged in. The power from his Darkova began to merge with his. And by the time he awoke… everything changed within him.

**(Back with Negi)**

Asuna froze to the sight that transpired before her. The immense surge of power coming from Negi's body was larger than anything she has ever seen up to date. There was just so much power that she could see some of them seeping through the cuts and stabs of his wounds. But the sudden change in the boy's features puzzled her even more.

His body was completely tanned. The markings of Magia Erabea made themselves apparent and visible to the naked eye. His body had grown about two or three inches taller, the pupils in his eyes was a mixture of white and black, his muscles grew and began to stick out of his shirt like Jack Rakan and his most notable change was the fact that his hair grew out. The hair on his head grew out to such a length that it reached the tip of the ground. But not only that, the color also changed from velvet red to dark raven black. They scampered and wiggled freely to the ground.

"I… feel it…" Negi couldn't even begin to describe the feeling that was surging through his bones. The power that he felt when the darkness took over him was unbelievable. It was better than any massage and more intoxicating than any wine. And it was then, Negi believed that he could actually do this. He finally had the power he had always craved for. A power that he could use to protect his loved ones, the power to destroy those who would do him harm, the power to save the world… and most importantly… it was a power that he… could control.

Negi looked at his hands and noticed that each of his fingers alone could probably match up to Evangeline already. It was just so… amazing.

Once he had finally gotten used to the presence of these powers, Negi turned his attention to the gryphons in front of him. They were perfect test subjects for his new abilities. As the beasts charged up at him, he raised up his hand and created a hundred layer shield which withstood their tackle. The two gryphons recoiled back to their original positions and that was when the child prodigy turned in for the offensive. With one hand lifted in the air, he summoned out three titanic spears that looked like perfect weapons for the Ostian Divine Guardian. With a single wave, all three spears plunged onto one of the gryphons pinning it to the ground.

All those who saw this felt like Negi just smite the creature with some sort of divine punishment from the sky. The boy was bursting with power and he didn't even know what the consequences of such powers are.

When the other gryphon saw the boy's might, it quickly charged out to him trying to take advantage of his sudden attack. But that was a foolish mistake on the bird part. Using his other free hand, Negi poured out an abundance of tainted magic from his body and created something that looked like the grim reaper carrying a giant scythe on its bony fingers. The beast took the full blunt of the attack and was sent right back into the air. At that very moment, Negi actually felt himself become a demigod… perhaps even beyond it. He was just full of so much energy that he even began to feel them through the strain on his hair.

"Stagnet!" the boy called out summoning a sphere of magic into the air. "Centuplex complexio!!" (centuplex means x100) hundred of magical spheres began to appear around the boy. With skills of an archmage, Negi slowly he absorbed them one by one into his body refining them into the purest form of magic. "Raijinsou Tinanoktonon!!" (Lightning Godlance: Titan Slayer) with both hands in the air and with a few incantations of spells, a giant lance magically appeared before Negi creating an awe striking surge of power.

While Negi finished conjuring up such a magnificent power at the palm of his hands, his knights couldn't help but become amazed. They knew that the boy was powerful but suddenly he just tripled himself and became something that even they would learn to fear if faced with such an opponent. In just mere seconds the child prodigy had created a weapon so magnificent and so powerful that Zeus, the king of the Greek Gods would gladly accept it worthy of a tribute.

And so with the power of a god at the very palm of his hand… Negi dealt the finishing blow to the gryphons and smite them with his Godlance creating a whirlpool of lightning. The attack lasted for about 150 seconds and with each of those seconds, a dozen lightning bolts would strike at the target's location creating one explosion after another. When the first signs of the spell ending came to sight, the landscape of Mt. Kael was changed to such extent that one would not even recognize the crater anymore.

The gryphons that Negi fought laid on the ground, alive but damaged beyond one's expectations. The awakened god showed little mercy to them as he could not afford to go easy on such legendary creatures.

The duration of the Darkova power soon wore off the moment Negi realizes there was no longer any danger. But the after effects came at a great cost. By the time the boy managed to reach ground level, he barely had enough strength to keep his body up. His body wobbled and wiggled and his fatigue finally began to make itself apparent on his body. Negi couldn't feel his arms, heck he could barely even feel his own legs. Soon enough he fell on his knees and slowly his body decent to the ground. But before his face touched the soft snow beneath him, his knights rushed to his side and helped the boy back on his feet.

"Negi sama!" Setsuna was first to get to him using her hands to help balance the boy's weight. "Negi sensei, are you alright?"

The boy darted his eyes to her relieved to see one of his friends there by his side. "Setsuna san…" he said wearily. "You're safe… I'm glad…" his chest rose and fell in rhythm to his breathing. His heart was weak due to the constant fighting and running. But now… it was finally over. He had never used so many magics in such extent before. He unleashed everything beyond his own limits and crushed those that did him harm. "Where is Kaede san and… Ku san?"

"We're here" the ninja called out from his left side. She was with Ku Fei as well both equally exhausted from spending all their energy and stamina on the magic seal. "That was some stunt you pulled Negi bozu. I've never seen anything like it"

"Yeah aru!" the kung fu master nodded in agreement. "You were like POW and WHAM and your hair grew aru!"

Negi tried to force out a laugh but his exhaustion beat him to it. "Hehe… yeah… I know. What of the gryphons?"

"They won't be getting up any time soon" Setsuna answered him. And to surprise the boy even more, she pulled out a feather from her back signaling that they got what they came for. "I got it from one of them"

"Great… at least now… we won't have to worry about…" but his eyes widened suddenly when he saw a halberd flying from the girl's blind spot. Using what little strength he had left in his body, Negi pushed Setsuna away and took the few blow of the attack. The weapon pierced right through his shoulder in the exact spot where Fate stabbed him during his arrival in the magic world. Blood gushed out from the wound and more coming from his mouth. "Gahh!"

Setsuna and the other two knights were shocked. They turned their heads to the attacker and to their horror… it was none than Asuna who seems to have recovered much of her strength already.

Kaede's heart nearly stopped as she saw the wound inflicted upon the boy. She rushed to his side in Setsuna's place and tried her best to remove the halberd but to no avail. Her strength was already spent in the match against the gryphons and little left remained to keep her walking. "Negi sensei!!"

Setsuna rose back and looked at the boy who had just saved her life…… again. Her eyes suddenly widened in horror and her legs felt numb from fear. How could she have been so careless? She let down her guard for just one second and the cost of that mistake came in greatly. She wanted to blame herself for her faulty and cut herself open. But now… she had to vent her anger on the one who dared to harm the child teacher.

In all her life Setsuna had never once showed such malice to a person. Her anger was usually locked in tight chains with the key thrown away. But now… those chains seemed to have been broken. The emotion that rushed to her blinded her judgment and right before she knew it, she had already grabbed her sword, dropped the feather and charged towards Asuna with rage clouding her thoughts. "ASUNAAA!!!!" her white wings flapped out and added speed to her movement, thinking of hundreds of ways to punish the said princess.

"Setsuna, don't!" Kaede tried to stop her warning fell to deaf ears as the ronin was already far ahead of her.

In a fit of rage Setsuna unlocked her Magia Erabea and began attacking Asuna relentlessly not even worrying about the consequences of her actions. "Aghhhaa!!!!" to say the least, Asuna expected this much from her master. Her anger made her attacks much harder to block but they also made it easy to predict and counter. So using her new found magic the princess thrust her hand onto the ronin and chanted 'gloreca' again sending a surge of light to her bones. In seconds Setsuna fell to the ground, completely wasted.

"Damn…" when Kaede saw this she quickly pulled out her kunai and readied herself for battle. She had little strength left in her and Ku Fei was no different. Neither of them had the stamina to match her now and even if they did, they didn't think that they would win.

With speed as fast as a cheetah, Asuna charged up at the two remainders for her enemy and struck both of them with one of her weapons. She placed one spear on Kaede and two more on Ku Fei each taking out one of her arms. "Divine punishment…… of the gods: Nibulung Valesti…!" as a finishing strike to end the battle, a beam of light bursts from Asuna's hands crushing the two girls down on their feet and knees in a magnificent glow.

The battle had ended.

Kaede gritted her teeth that moment on. Her grip still slowly tightened on her weapon. "Damn it……"

With the last of the knights fallen under her blade, Asuna soon turned her attention back to the boy teacher in hand. She didn't even need to use her pactio to finish him off. The boy was already bleeding and there was no way he would be able to fight back in the condition he was in. After spending all of his energy against those gryphons he was now down for the count. But the least she could say was that it was an impressive feat. Gryphons were the mightiest creatures in the entire magic world. A single one of these beasts would surely be enough to give Evangeline a run for her money and three of them alone would be a match even for Jack Rakan.

The girl readied her weapon preparing to deliver the coup de grace to end Negi's life. The son of the man who lied to her, the one who locked away all her sins and guilt to live a normal carefree life, the person who made her life what it was now and the man who is responsible for the destruction of her country.

This… was revenge…

But before the girl could even decide where to deliver the last blow to end the war, a presence of another powerful being suddenly appeared atop Negi. It came almost instantaneously like one moment he wasn't there and the next moment he was. "Wha…? Who…?" she readied her blade just in case the man was hostile. He wore black robes that covered her body and his power seemed to triple Negi's. Whoever he was… he was certainly not an ordinary person. If his power was at this scale, he was either a high level archmage or a demon in disguise.

"Not another move…" he said with a serious toned voice. His fists were barely visible from his sleeves and his face was impossible to describe thanks to the cover of darkness. But there was something else in his threat that made Asuna tremble in those words. She couldn't explain why but she believed that this was not the first time she heard this voice. It made the hair on her legs feel slightly numb and her spine growing a chilling feeling on its base. A rough guess would say that a post traumatic experience during her childhood stirred her fears. She would've remembered it in an instant if her feet would stop shaking in their place.

"W… what are you?"

The man did not reply. He simply shot her a daggery glare which sent even more chills down her spine. He was so frightening that Asuna couldn't even get the air in her lunges. "Be gone from my sight child" he spoke bitterly as if he was resisting the urge to kill. "I do not have the time to teach someone like you to breathe…" Asuna stepped back unsure of what to do. But seeing that the man was ready to kill her in a flat second, she took out her pactio card and abandoned the battlefield before another second was wasted.

After making sure that no one was around to hear, see or sense him, the man slowly turned his head back to Negi who still laid on the ground, his eyes desolate and lifeless and his skin pale as paper. "You damn foolish boy…" the man spoke out as he pulled him into a close embrace. "You continued to protect her, despite my warning. How can one so young… possibly throw themselves at death's embrace?" he placed his black hand on the boy's stomach and let a healing glow emanate through it. "You…… are truly strong… my son. Even the Thousand Master himself would be wetting in his pants if he saw you in that state"

Negi shifted his gaze once more as he tried to fix his breathing rhythm. He looked to the man who saved his life and noticed some familiarity in his facial features. "S… Siegfried…?" he was able to mutter out.

"Shh… rest now" he calmed him. "The fight is over. There is no need for you to continue. Do not worry. Your friends are on their way…" Siegfried gently tapped the boy's eyes and closed them, allowing him to get the rest he so sorely deserved. He waited a few minutes allowing himself to recompose for his sudden appearance. "I Curse your lineage and those before you Nagi…" he cursed out at the end of his breath. His held his head down to silently curse the boy's father as if he was holding some kind of grudge against him. "I curse you for all eternity…" and with a gentle wind from the mountain... he vanished.

The fight on Mt. Kael was over… but was this, a victory… or a defeat for the gang? No one knows.


	14. Setsuna's Act

**Chapter 14: Setsuna's Act**

**(The Great Paru Sama) (Morning) (Living room)**

The battle at Mt. Kael was a costly one for the whole Negima gang. Though they had achieved victory nonetheless, their trust and morale had suffered greatly under the banner of Fate Averruncus and his legion of golems.

Asuna, the one who the gang was supposed to rescue became their very worst enemy and had beaten them on all sides like a hammer striking on steel itself. Many of the Negi Knights lay wounded and some of them had greater damage than most. The ground team that was sent to the mountain itself took the blunt part of the battle. Facing the enemy's main force themselves they struggled with every second that passed.

Those who were lucky enough to stay onboard the Great Paru Sama had only received minor wounds and scratches, except for Mana who took out the commanding unit on her own. Mt. Kael itself had turned into a battlefield where the gods and demons of the afterworld could not help but jerk their attention to it. They watched the actions of the most powerful mortals in the galaxy and enjoyed every moment of it. They may even call it a top class entertainment. Those who could witness such a battle between two sides with different perspectives would gladly say that this was probably one of fights that would make even Merlin himself want to clap his hands together.

Setsuna, Kaede, Ku Fei and the rest of Negi's class and friends were all assembled at the living room that morning to have their daily breakfast. It had been two days since the battle with Asuna and things did not look bold for the team.

They had suffered a major blow to their morale now that their leader was in a coma lying in wounded bed. The Ala Rubra, the heroes of the previous war had also been dealt with. Though they were able to survive the massive explosion set up by Asuna and her golem army, they did not return from battle unscathed. Nagi, the Thousand Master had suffered some minor burn wounds on his back, Alberio got caught up in the explosion and got some damage done to his leg, Eishun, who held the shield that protected the group suffered from minor fatigue. Takahata and Rakan were the only ones who were able to get out safely. Takimichi survived the blast by putting all of his energy into his protective shield. Jack of course was no surprise. With that body made of steel reinforced by the purest form of willpower… the guy can fall off a cliff chasing a butterfly stand up and walk again as if nothing happened.

The ship itself had sustained a considerable amount of damage as well during the fight. Many of its functions were disabled but at least the gang was able to keep it afloat. The radar dish on the top was destroyed preventing the team from calling reinforcements from the Osia-Hella force. The engine was still fine but the capacity for speed had drop to 25 percent… or at least that's what Haruna could say.

But the most crushing blow to the gang was their spirit. When word came from Asuna's betrayal, they simply couldn't believe it. In all their lives knowing Asuna, none of them ever expected her to turn to such treachery. To wound the boy that did all in his power to save her and to harm her friends no less was unacceptable. Now with Fate preparing for the grand scale plan and with the princess leading at the head of his golem army… the chance of victory seemed rather grim for the group.

No one took the news easily. Some had a hard time even believing it but it was the truth nonetheless. There was no denying it.

There was a small eerie silence looming around the room that day. Though the food was just as great as before, no one seemed to have the stomach to eat. Everyone was exhausted from the battle and from what Theodora could tell, they must've at least wiped off a large portion of enemy forces. It was supposed to cheer them up but nothing seems to be working.

Setsuna placed her spoon now after finishing her meal. She forced herself to eat even though her stomach was disgusted with her own defeat. But she had to put something in her stomach. If one did not eat when before a fight then that person would surely fall.

'Eat… even if you are not hungry'

-Some quote I found

As she laid her back on her couch, she noticed her mistress Konoka sleeping right on her shoulder. The poor girl was exhausted after that fateful day. Ever since the gang regrouped at the ship, the young Konoe made it her top priority to bring everyone back to health. She used up all of her magical powers to heal the most critically wounded and sparred nothing left to keep her standing. By the time everyone's conditions were stable, she collapsed under the pressure of depleted strength and by that time Setsuna has stuck by her side like glue.

"Emmm…" Konoka woke up from her weary sleep. "Set chan… what time is it?"

"Ojou sama…" the ronin flashed her a small smile. "It's ok. It's barely morning yet. There's food ready for you"

"Good… I'm starving…" she let out a yawn before Hatsuki placed a hot meal on the table in front of her. "Thank you… Hatsuki chan…"

While the others busied themselves with their meal and going about sadly, Setsuna returned to a slouch position on the couch ignoring her self anger at the moment. After the battle had ended she had lost conscious from Asuna's powerful strike the only thing she could remember was seeing was the traitor preparing to deliver the finishing blow to Negi. When she woke up then and heard that they were able to escape, she assumed that Negi must've defeated her in some way. But the part that really builds up her steam at the moment was that all their effort came to nothing. A day later after the battle, the Gryphons had already recovered and fled to another region to make a new nest and the feather that she obtained was lost to the winds. Now all she had out of that was a few bruises and a permanent scar on her pride.

A few minutes later, Haruna and Satomi appeared from the engineering block looking all messy and sweaty. They had spent their free time in attempting to get the ship back in shape after the battle with Shiori's fleet. But to be honest the repairs weren't going as fast as they thought it would for they lack the necessary equipments to fix the ship.

"Hey there Haruna, Satomi chan" Makie called out to the manga artist and his partner. "There's food ready"

"Thanks" Paru wiped the sweat on her head before turning to the cold glass of water on the table. "But I'll get it later. Fixing this ship up is no easy work"

"Indeed…" came Chachamaru's voice from Satomi's lab coat. After the damaged done to her previous body, the young android had taken up her CPU to her emergency body. "The damage done to the ship is extreme. Though the enemy seemed to have attacked in mass, their smaller units disabled many of the ship's primary functions. They had intended to destroy the stabilizers and the engine so the ship would crash"

She was shaped like a doll now, much like the ghost Sayo who had a doll body of her own. Though she could still move on her own, she had no means to defend herself or travel great distances for too long. Also unlike her previous body, she doesn't need the key to recharge her magic supply for this body doesn't consume too much power due to its lack of other functions.

"Yeah, that's why it's already a challenge just to keep this little baby up in the air"

"So is that the reason why we landed here of all places?" Madoka asked earning himself a nod.

"Yeah. At least then, if our engine fails we won't fall anywhere hard"

"Good…" Kotaro sighed. "I had enough snow for one day. That pactio of mine gave me the colds ha…haaa… haaaa choo!" Natsumi handed him a handkerchief and allowed the boy to blow his nose. After the battle with Homura, he later discovered that the armor itself had an after effect of leaving the element on your body for awhile. Though he may have the resistant of a K-9 dog, he wasn't immune to the basic flu.

"Anyway, guys" Theodora suddenly called out to their attention. "What do you plan to do now? I know you all need rest but it's already been two days. The invasion of Asgard will be starting soon and we need Negi back at base for it to begin. I know we destroyed a lot of the enemy but if this plan is to succeed then we need him"

Kaede shifted her pose to meet Theo's gaze. Though she wanted to protest to the princess's request she could not reject her logic. The gryphons were probably long gone by now and finding them would take about a month alone. "I agree" she said finally. "There's no point in staying here now that the gryphons are gone"

Konoka immediately protest against this. "B… but what about Set chan's village!?"

"They won't grant us entrance without the feather" Eishun answered trying to calm his daughter down. "It's their tradition and if we force our way in, they won't help us either. And the gryphons are already long gone from these lands"

"But…"

"I don't think we should be having this conversation" all eyes turned to Haruna who was still smirking. "Planning an't our thing ya dig? I don't think we should be doing anything major until our good leader wakes up. Once he does, I'm sure he'll think of something" he winked at them hoping to give the troop some glimmer of hope.

"But we don't have that kind of time" Theo urged. "We only have three days until the invasion starts and there's no guarantee that he'll wake up before then" she was quickly hushed down when Paru raised up her hand to stop her from saying anymore. "Eh?"

"Don't worry… I'm sure he'll wake up soon" the manga artist's voice rang with slight hint of a hopeful confidence. Nodoka and Yue had been with Haruna for a long time but never before had they heard her speak with such passion. Sure she maybe a bit overly energetic at times and sometimes even klutzy but never had she showed that expression before in her life. It was like a mixture of sad, confident and trust put together. "I'm sure of it…"

"But…"

"Theo san… I've known Negi long enough to understand him" Paru cut her off still showing that passionate face. "Though I'll admit, I don't understand what's going through his heart and mind. But what I do know is that he comes through no matter how rough the situation is. He's strong, smart and always confident about himself" she shifted herself, patting the dirt off dress. "That's why I always put my money on him, no matter how bad the situation is" she then turned to the others who all seemed to be agreeing to the idea. "So… why don't we our trust in him for now? Because some how… I know that he'll think of something"

And with that, Theo remained silent, now just realizing how loyal Negi's students were… to him.

**(Negi's room)**

Negi awoke to the sounds of a continuous beeping noise that morning. It was not good or bad or anything… it was just annoying. It was like a beeping sound from one of those heart detectors you would see in hospitals and such. As he opened his eyes, he realized that it was a heart detector that was making that noise. It was attached to his left chest where it monitored his heart beats and temperature. There were many other wires connected to his body and all of them seemed to be telling some sort of reading of different parts of his body. It was like some kind of freakish science lab you would see in movies.

There were some medical tools and kits on the table where Chamo was staying and a few other magic healing remedies scattered across the ground. After analyzing the place a bit more, Negi soon discovered that he was in his room on board the Great Paru Sama. Haruna's ship.

It was not before long until memories of the previous incident suddenly flood right back onto his head. He quickly remembered everything. The travel to Mt. Kael, finding the gryphon's feather to gain access to Setsuna's village, and Asuna…

He gasped at the thought of the girl's name. "Asuna!" But his movements were quickly brought together with pain as his shoulder suddenly began to ache. He quickly recalled being stabbed there by Asuna and having the whole world close down on him. He couldn't recall what happened after being stabbed only that he woke up here the next morning.

"Morning?" the boy looked out his window and noticed the run rising from the east. He looked at the clock on his coffee table and compared with his body clock. How long has he been sleeping? "Ahh!?" he flinched upon realizing the pain around his neck. There were several large pillows scattered around his bed some of them were probably from the other girl's rooms to make him comfortable.

Alarmed by the sound of pain, Chamo appeared from his living area only to see the boy getting up. "Ah! Aniki!" he called out before rushing towards him. "You're awake!"

"Chamo kun…" Negi looked up to his friend with a pained face. "What h… happened?"

"Don't move too much aniki" the ermine urged the boy to get back down. "You should rest first"

But Negi refused to go down. "Chamo… what day is it?"

The little ermine paused before replying to that question. "It's been two days since the fight aniki. You were seriously hurt so we brought you back. Konoka and Setsuna nee chan had been with you for a long time just trying to patch you up ne" Negi looked around and noticed that there was a table right beside him with a few scraps of metal and a few rolls of bloodied bandages.

"Ughh…" not wanting to remain in this place much longer than needed, Negi quickly removed the wires that were attached to his body and stood back up. Though the pain on his body were as sore as having a sun burn, it was nothing more but a pinch compared to the pain that the boy was feeling in his heart. He had failed… again and this time the cost was even greater than before. He had just doomed the entire world by letting Asuna go. If he had taken that opportunity, then the war could've come to a sweet end right now. But alas, his chance slipped through his fingers and now the princess of twilight was nowhere to be seen and all he could blame this fault on… was himself.

If he had only been more careful, more alert then perhaps this chaos would've been prevented.

Gathering what little energy he could muster from the bowels of his stomach, the boy reached out for the cane stick that Zazie made for him and made his way to the door. He needed the fresh air and the smell of his room was getting stuffy by the minute. But before he could reach out for the giant door knob, it was suddenly opened from the other side. Nagi, his father was on the other side with a small smile feinted on his lips.

"Hey there boyo" the Thousand Master waved his hand at his son. "You're up, that's good"

"Father?"

"You had everyone pretty worried out there" Nagi entered the room and closed the door behind him. "I was even worried myself"

"I… I'm sorry father"

Nagi sighed at this. "There you go again. Stop apologizing. There's nothing to be sorry about. We all make mistakes in our lives. Sit down and I'll change your bandages"

"B… but…" before Negi could argue, his father had already taken him back to his bed.

"No buts. I'm your dad, now be a good boy and listen to your old man. (Damn it! I hate that name!)" Slowly the Thousand Master quickly took a clean roll of bandages from the shelf and slowly began taking out the old bandages from Negi's shoulder. A lot of blood had spilled from his battle with Asuna and a lot more from many other encounters with Fate's minions. As Nagi gently tapped the boy's wounds, he flinched just a bit pointing out that it still hurt. "Does it still bother you? The wound I mean…"

"Yeah… but it'll heal eventually" his son answered his head facing downward.

Nagi, noticing his son's obvious depression knew what he was thinking about. As he took a large portion from the bandage roll, he quickly plopped out. "Kaede told us about what happened" he began with a serious face. "About the battle and… Asuna. Everything. Don't blame yourself for it. It's not good for your head, trust me… I know"

"But that's no excuse for my failure" Negi lifted his arm slightly to allow his father to wrap the bandages around his shoulder. "If only I had been more careful then this would've never happened"

"Hey now. None of us could've expected that to happen. Take me and my team for example" he showed the boy the wound he received from the major explosion that occurred during the battle. "Apparently all the golems we crushed were all equipped with mini explosives. When we took out the last hundred, they all self destructed. Al and Eishun saved our butts big time" he let out a small comical laugh which lightened the mood just a little bit. "But any way I didn't mind the wounds. I got to be taken cared by Eishun's little girl and I got to say she's really pretty up close. Hey why don't you go after her boyo? I'm sure Eishun wouldn't mind you hitting on his daughter. (I even got his approval too)"

Negi quickly blushed as he momentarily had a relapsed of this situation before back in Eva's Resort. "What!? No! Father, it's inappropriate for a teacher and a student to be having a relationship! That will be breaking the code of conduct I promised to the school!"

"Hehehe… just kidding. But seriously… think about who you want to spend your life with and how you want to spend it. If Rakan was in your shoes right now, he'd probably be putting all the girls' names in hat and pull out the lucky name with one guess"

"Father!"

"Just kidding. Sheesh… you think a kid your age would be at least interested in a few girls" the Thousand Master let out a disappointing sigh. "I guess I'll probably never have grandchildren of my own"

"Father!!!"

"Ok ok, that was the last one" Nagi laughed out loud. "No more jokes about your students, promise… scouts honor" he raised up his hand in a pledging stance. After he finally replaced the bandages on his son's arms he placed a small healing spell on it just to make sure that the after effects would not kick it. "So anyway… what are you going to do now?"

"Huh?"

"Well what do you plan to do now? About Asuna"

Negi immediately deflated at that point. A part of him wanted to rush to Asuna right now and rescue her but she'll probably just give him a beating. But somehow… he still couldn't understand why she was so angry at him… and everyone at that… and why in the world was she fighting on Fate's side? A myriad of questions almost literally swirled around his head. So many puzzling situations and only one person alone held the answers to them all. Chamo wanted to give a reason but he kept his mouth shut as he knew that Negi was the only person who had the right to judge her fate.

"Do you plan on going after her?" his father continued. "Take her back to Mahora by force?"

"I don't really… know" came his slow and disheartening answer. "Every fiber of my body is telling me to help her… but the truth is… I just don't know how" he looked at his hands for a moment before balling them into fists. "I tried everything to convince her to come back… but I…… I just didn't know what to say" Nagi understood his son clearly. Of course he didn't know what to say, how could he? He wasn't the one who aided in putting a spell on Asuna or became a part of one of the bloodiest events in history.

"Well then if you don't know then there's no point in thinking about it" the Thousand Master said suddenly which caught the boy's attention. "Listen boyo. If there's one thing I know about life: is that you can plan it. There's no way you can predict what life has in store for you and there's no way to tell what's gonna happen next. You can only guess and hope for the best. That's what I did when I dropped out of school. To make it simple: You won't know what to say to her unless you meet her again. So just stay cool and wait. There's no point in worrying about something that's out of our control right?"

Negi looked at him a bit puzzled but some how his words rang some truth. After a minute of pause the boy let out a small breath that he suddenly realized that he had been holding. As much as he wanted to save Asuna right now, there wasn't anything he could do to convince her. There weren't any words in the English or Japanese dictionary to possibly convince her to come back. The only other option now would be to take her down and make her see the errors of her ways. But who the hell was he kidding? This was Asuna they were talking about here. Trying to beat sense into her is like trying to teach an ameba how trigonometry and geography are not related.

But thinking that now, it kind of actually made Negi calm down. Though he may not know what to do now, maybe the words will come to him when he sees her again.

Seeing the boy lightened up a bit, Nagi let out a smile. But of course that happy moment had to be ruined when Chamo added one last comment. "Ya know pops. That advice you gave now just hinted on your age" a dark comical ghost loomed over the Thousand Master when he realized that the little ermine was right. Giving words of wisdom and adult advice to his son and teasing him with his own students about puberty and stuff made him really look like and sound like an old man. "Ara… looks like pop's down for the count"

"Please… don't call me that"

"Anyway aniki, what's our next step?"

The boy thought for a moment to conjure a plan before replying. "Well I guess the first thing we should do is to meet with Setsuna's people" he began with a small nod as Chamo came by to hand him a glass of water. "We have the gryphon's feather so we…"

"Ahh… now that's a problem aniki" Chamo interrupted. "Ya see…… we kinda lost the feather when Asuna beat us. Right now… we're kind of featherless"

"What!?" Negi's eyes widened, fearing the worst for his students. "Then what about Setsuna, Kaede and the others?"

"Whoa easy there" Nagi calmed him. "They're fine. A little magic healing from Konoka and they're good as new. Though some of them are still suffering from a few scratches and bruises from that little fight. Other than that, they're good"

"But that leaves us without something to present to the Crow guys" the ermine added puffing a cigarette into his mouth. "I had a talk with our Al man and he says they won't allow anyone entry now"

"Do we at least know where they're village is?" Negi questioned which Chamo nodded to.

"Yeah. Kazumi chan found them yesterday inside a small mountain pass. They're pretty secretive and they're village is pretty much like a small fortress" he puffed out a smoke and sighed. "But like Al said, they won't let anyone through without a good reason. They'll probably attack you first when you get too close"

Negi meditated wearily at that moment. To think that all of their efforts would go to waste right here and now was just unbearable. He cursed mentally and tried to think of a plan. "Then… we'll just have to find the gryphons again"

"Eh… not an option either. They migrated after the fight aniki. From what Konoka's old man told us: They probably headed to Kibi Island which is pretty much a week's journey from here" the ermine explained puffing again another smoke. "We'll be delaying the invasion for another month if we went through with it" again Negi cursed in his head. Their plan had been messed up big time. He had promised to bring Setsuna to her parents but now without the feather, their journey may as well be futile.

Negi ran his hand through his hair groaning at this. One failure after another seemed to be making his day go downhill. He had never thought that his entire team would suffer such a defeat even at such a victory. It was a cruel sick joke if one could say it that. Though they had lost much of their morale, their strength did not wane one bit.

"The princess is also getting impatient too" Nagi added. "She wants to depart as soon as the ship is fixed. I get a feeling she's gonna nag us until we agree. So the choice is pretty much cut down to it"

Negi was going to say something to spark up a small argument, but then Chamo interrupted. "As much as I hate to say it, I'm gonna have to go with everyone's ideas. We don't have much of a choice other than to go back. The longer we wait the stronger Fate is gonna get. I know you're a man who always keeps your promises aniki, but you got to think this one this time. We an't just got the time to do it"

"Chamo…" Negi looked down to himself and let out a depressing sigh. There was simply no way out of it. Go now and risk losing the war or go back to save the world. It was sealed. It simply just couldn't be done. "Alright… I understand. Chamo kun" the ermine perked up to the call of his name. "Please tell everyone about our next step. We're heading back as soon as Haruna san fixes the engine"

The little rodent nodded to his decision and quickly saluted and went away through the mini-door that Haruna installed for him.

With him gone, Nagi turned his attention back to his son. "Well… it looks like everything's done. You get some rest ok boyo? And I'll come back with something to eat"

"Yes… that would be nice" he said with a small smile before turning it into a sad frown. "I just wonder how Setsuna san will take it"

"Don't worry" Nagi waved him off. "Like I said. There's no use worrying about things that's beyond your control"

**(Living room)**

The news of Negi's decision did not come to a surprise for the gang at all. In fact, many of them were more worried about Negi's condition rather than his decision. Chamo explained to them that he still needed rest which was a logical and sound excuse, but in truth, the boy just didn't have the courage to face them at the moment.

By the time everyone had received the order, the gang began to disburse to prepare for the long awaited departure. The only ones that remained in the living room were Konoka, Setsuna, Chamo and Hatsuki who was already busy preparing lunch and Ku Fei who was already saving her seat on the good table. Many of the tables weren't really in a good shape even when Haruna bought it. She was just too busy upgrading the fancier stuff rather than to improve the most basic of needs.

"Set chan…" Konoka turned to her protector with a rather saddened face. She was really hoping to bring Setsuna back to her people to see her family just once but due to the situation they had with them, it was impossible. "I'm really sorry we couldn't get you to see your village"

"That's ok ojou sama" the ronin replied trying her best not to make her mistress feel bad. "I don't really remember much of my old home so there won't be much of a difference if I return. Besides……" she flashed out a weak and weary smile. "You and Negi sama had done so much for me already. I couldn't possibly ask for more than what you've already given me"

"But Set chan, we're talking about your old home here. I wanted you to see it so much"

"It's alright ojou sama. Even if I did go back to my village, I still doubt they will allow me to return there. I was exiled and exiles never usually come back"

"But…"

"Hehe… there now ojou sama. I'm not sad at all. Besides…… we have more important issues to worry about than my past. There's no point worrying about it now"

"That's right aru!" Ku Fei interrupted suddenly with a comical expression on her face. "Think positively! That'll get you through the day! Like me aru! I already can't wait for lunch! Hatsuki is making her all time chocolate meat bun aru!"

"But… set chan…"

"Its ok ojou sama. Perhaps it wasn't my time to return to my village just yet" Setsuna held her mistress's hand and allowed her warmth to seep in. "Perhaps another time… I may be able to return. But for now… Negi sama has need of my help"

Konoka looked at the ronin with a bit of uncertainty in her eyes but chose to hold it off anyway. She nodded out and agreed to let this incident slide for now.

"Oh… that reminds me…" Setsuna stated as she raised herself. "I still have something to do. Please excuse me"

**(Fate's flagship) (Jormungande) (Bridge)**

Asuna and the remainder of her army sat on that cold bridge that day. After the attack on Negi and his group, her forces were visibly cut in half. What little remained of her fleet and her golem army was down to their last numbers thanks to the destruction caused by the Ala Rubra. The lieutenants of Fate did their task admirably holding off and trying to destroy the enemy they were assigned to, however more disappointment came when she realized that none of them were successful.

Shiori was the most wounded among all of them. She had suffered a crushing defeat from Mana but was able to fulfill her mission by sabotaging the ship. Koyomi and Tamaki were the first to withdraw from battle since they were facing a much more dangerous opponent. Shirabe suffered greatly as well by the hands of Chisame and Zazie and returned badly beaten to near exhaustion. Only Homura returned nearly unscathed even though she battled with two of the toughest members in Negi's group.

At that moment, the princess of twilight was on the bridge looking at some odd device that she found in Asgard Fortress.

"Have we located them yet?" she asked to the ones behind her.

"No… not yet" Koyomi replied. "Our scouts are scouring the mountain as we speak but the mountain is a lot bigger than it looks and the thick fog hampers our visibility. Our radar is also being interfered by the magnetic field in the mountains. It'll take us time but I'm certain that they haven't left the premises yet"

"Also, with they're ship badly damaged I'd say they're probably lying low to avoid confronting us until they're ready" the fire mage added. "They could also be moving while they hide as well"

"Then continue the search" Asuna ordered. Koyomi lowered her head slightly to her and quickly left the premises. "Fate wants this project done as soon as possible. We've delayed our plans for a long time now"

"But are you certain that this will work?" Homura questioned, her eyes darting to the princess. "We've lost already half of our forces against the boy and his father. How do you know that he'll take the bait?"

Asuna smiled at her and simply said. "It's a gamble…"

"But are the cards in our favor?"

"Who knows?"

**(The Great Paru Sama) (Outer deck)**

The outer deck of the Great Paru Sama was a complete mess if one would see it now in its condition. The floor tiles were ripped from their sockets even though they were nailed down to the ground and made entirely out of steel. Much of the platform itself had been utterly devastated with magic and powerful attacks made by Shiori and several pipes and pieces littered around still waiting to be fixed by a skilled engineer. But even though the deck itself was damaged beyond the scale of one to ten, the view from that balcony could never be taken away. It remained beautiful, changing and always sublime.

And this is usually the place where Negi would come to think when he was troubled. Whenever he was down on something he would always come here to find the view to sooth his mind. The battle with Asuna had taken much out of him and his wounds didn't seem to be healing as fast as they first were. He guessed it must've been because he spent a lot of his energy awakening the Darkova inside of him. Upon remembering the beast's name, he shuddered to the energy spike he received back then. The power that he controlled was immense but the after effect was simply too much to bear.

Upon releasing his grip to that source of power the boy realized that having that kind of energy was like taking a power-up pill. You would gain a large boost of power and energy almost beyond tens of thousands of high level mages and you would feel like nothing can hurt you. But the after effect was that after the battle ends, it would drain your body completely out of energy. It would destabilize your body and cripple it in so many places that you wouldn't be able to budge an inch.

Even though there was a side effect to the power, Negi had no regret in it. He was able to trick the Darkova. Those who were able to use it were quick to be consumed by and it and go on a rampage before they know what they doing. But Negi was able to prevent that. He had made a deal with his own darkness by bargaining his own life. He would allow the beast to consume him but on his terms and his terms alone. That alone is enough to make even the grandmasters of dark magic raise their arms in applause.

"Haaa…" the boy let out a small sigh which Chamo was able to catch whiff.

"Oi… oi aniki" the ermine waved out. "You really should stop doing that. Sighing out loud really doesn't suit you. The others will know that something's bothering you"

But the boy did not listen to what his friend said. He simply starred out into the open view as the sun rose from the east. The mere thought of facing Asuna again made his heart paced and even now his mind was still trying to remember what she was saying. He coddled the wound that she inflicted upon him. Right on the exact same spot where Fate jabbed him with a stone pillar. It was obvious that Konoka wasn't able to reach him in time to use the perfect healing spell that allows her to recover wounds in almost an instant. He must've been found by the group an hour later after his fall.

"Asuna…" he was able to mutter her name before slouching back on the broken floor. "What do you want me to do?" his thoughts quickly focused on the said princess and began to wander. "What could I possibly do?"

But his thoughts were quickly interrupted when he heard the bulkhead door behind him open up. To his surprise it was…

"Konoka san?"

"Negi sensei, it's terrible! (??) It's Set-chan! She disappeared!"

"What!?" the boy's eyes widened almost immediately. "When did she!?"

"I don't know! But she left these behind!" the girl showed him a small enveloped letter, Setsuna's Pactio card and the Ala Alba badge that was used to track down members through a special radar.

As Negi read the contents of the letter he immediately knew what the ronin was thinking. From the words that she wrote she must've felt responsible for their defeat two days ago and the lost of the feather. It was obvious that she was now taking it upon herself to make things right by going to the village all by herself to ask for the aid of the crow demons. Even knowing that she was banished from that village long ago she had a small glimmer of hope that her heritage might grant her passage to the village.

Negi crumpled the letter to his fist as he finished reading it. The poor girl. The mere thought of going there was plain suicide. If she went there alone there was a good chance that she could be killed.

"Konoka san…" he spoke up. "Please don't tell anyone about this" he grabbed his staff from his side and rode on it.

"Ah! Aniki!"

"Sensei, where are you going?"

"I'm going after Setsuna!" he answered out before kicking his staff into gear. "I might be able to catch up to her if I fly from here" and without another word the boy left off, hoping that the girl in question would still be safe.

But along the way, he did not notice the figure of his father smiling at him from the roof of the ship. "Heh… looks like I'm gonna have to redo my calculations on this" he muttered out strangely happy.

Once Negi was a good distance away from the ship he immediately pulled out his Ala Alba badge and contacted Kazumi. "Kazumi san. (Yo?) Can you give me the location of the Crow village?"

"Eh? The village you say? (Yes)" the girl jotted down and looked through her notes of the map locations. "Ah! Here I got it. Its a few clicks up north from the cave we're in right now hidden between the mountain paths. There are some rough terrains there so it'll be hard to approach it on both land and air. Strange though…… Setsuna was asking for the same thing"

"_I was right…"_ Negi thought. _"She is planning to go to her village after all"_

"Oh, Negi sensei. Where are you right now? Are you out flying?"

"Sorry Kazumi san, but I'm in a bit of a hurry at the moment" and with that he cut the transmission off and hasten his flight towards the direction that his instinct map suggested.

**(The White Citadel)**

"Oh…" Fate's eyes seemed to have widened suddenly for some reason.

"What's the matter?" Tsukuyomi questioned as she toyed with her blades with her fingers. "Did something happen?"

"Yes…" he grinned. "It seems like my opponents have become even stronger. He must've found a new source of determination. Hehehehe… quite interesting indeed"

"Are they coming yet? I'm bored!!"

"No… not yet. However… her majesty's delay seems to bother me a bit. Perhaps I should call her"

"You'll get yelled at again" the sadistic ronin grinned at him.

"Either way… as long as she returns with what she desires then I have no argument. Now be silent while I continue" quickly the boy began chanting another spell onto the floor he was on and began adding more and more power to himself.

"Say Fatey" the girl called out. "Why are you putting so many magic circles on that floor? Are you trying to make some kind of spell?"

"You could say that" was his answer. "But truthfully, I'm just preparing the grand stage where I will make my last stand…"

**(Corvo Demonio Villiare)**

"Hmm…" Setsuna muttered out as she arrived at the gates of her home village. Though much of the landscape had changed during the past years that she was exiled, she could recognize the gate quite easily. It was probably the only thing she could remember from when she last saw it. The canyon pass that led to the gate was indeed very treacherous for all invaders. The stalagmites that grew from the top and bottom of this cave were sharpened by its residence to act as a natural defensive position. Those who would try to invade it from the ground would find themselves barred by jagged rock works and those who could fly would probably face the same trial.

The only safe way to the gate was to simply float in between the 'dragon's teeth' and carefully coordinate their way to through the area.

And of course, Setsuna did just that. With her angel like wings she was able to make her way to the gate.

"Hmm…" as she looked carefully at the gate area she noticed several torch lights lit across its sides and two heavily armored guards keeping watch to whoever tries to enter. From a single look at the gate she could tell that it was built to withstand a siege. Its hinges were made out of iron and the defenses around it were powerful enough to send a mercenary force home packing. _"Two guards. It'll be a bother to force my way in and there doesn't seem to be any sort of places I can sneak in. There's no choice… I'll have to use that…"_ but then suddenly, her ears perked by the sound of an echo.

"Setsuna san…" the voice became louder and louder and right when she turned her head she nearly face faulted onto the floor when Negi came into the picture. "Setsuna san! Where are you!?"

"_Ah crap! Negi!?"_ Setsuna looked back and noticed the guards seemed to have caught wind of the boy's voice. _"Darn it! I have no other choice!"_ with speed as fast as a cheetah, the girl lounge herself onto the boy and covered both his mouth and body before the guards came up. "Shhh…"

"Mphhhh!!" Negi struggled but found himself to be having a slight nosebleed when he realized that his face was being placed right in between her breast. "Mfff!"

"Quiet for a second" she whispered before noticing the shadows of the crow guards hovering over her position. Luckily the torchlight in the area was able to give away their positions.

"Did you hear something?" the guards spoke to one another. "I thought I heard a voice a second ago…"

"Let's patrol the area…" seeing that this was going to be bad if they get discovered, Setsuna think fast and had an idea pop into her head. With a simple move she threw a small rock into the ceiling and flooded out a hail of bats into the area.

The guards noticed it and immediately believed that it was the bats that made all that noise. "Ah. It's nothing. Those bats are getting wild again"

With the two guards now gone and out of ear shot, Setsuna was finally able to let go of her guard. "Phew… that was close. Sorry about that Negi sense…" she stop mid sentence when she realized what her previous action had done. With Negi still in between her breast she had to resist the urge to scream like a lion and pucker her lips together. "Eep! Sorry!"

"Bwaah…" the boy let out a moan to breath. "Setsuna san, what are you doing here?"

Upon realization, the samurai girl could tell then there was only one person who knows where she'd be going. "Did ojou sama asked you to bring me back?"

"No, I came here on my own when she showed me your letter. Setsuna, you need to come back. It's crazy to come here on your own"

The girl bowed apologetically. "Forgive me sensei… but I am the one responsible for this. It's only right that I correct my mistakes"

"But charging into the demon crow village is not wise. They won't allow you entry without the feather, remember?"

"I know that…… but still"

"Setsuna san. No one is blaming you for what happened. If anything……… I guess it was mostly my fault" the girl raised her head to face the boy with a curious expression. "I wasn't able to protect Asuna and because of that she joined fate. By hiding the truth about her past from her she could no longer trust me. I understand her feelings but she cannot see it. So don't go jumping to conclusions on your own, ok?"

"Sensei…"

"Besides… going through the village isn't exactly the best idea either"

"I know that, which is why I prepared for this. (Huh?)" the girl then move her hand to a small part of the rocks and from there, Negi noticed a particular stone which seemed to have been marked with a blue paint color. "I never intended to charge into the village, but if I can meet the village elders, I believe I can at least try to persuade them"

But then Negi could see through her words. It was no use hiding such a plain reality with a lie. She wasn't going there for everyone's sake but for her own. She wasn't going to try and persuade them to join the coalition force. Those reasons were just self serving excuses and it was easily cracked through Negi's brilliant mind.

"Are you sure you're not just using them as your excuses, Setsuna?"

The girl stopped on her tracks and turned back to him. "What?"

"From what I can tell now Setsuna… you're lying…"

"What? No, never! I would never…"

"You just did…" Negi said back to her with a stern face that he only gives when he's serious about a particular subject. "You say that you're doing this for everyone, but in truth you're just doing this for yourself. (No! I…)" he then took out the crumpled letter he kept in his pocket and unfolded it. "When a person lies through a letter a feint hint of it can be seen. A scribble line between the letters senses your nervousness. You lie not just to me and everyone… but yourself as well"

"W… what?"

"Setsuna san… your parents are in the village council too, are they not?" the girl in question gasped. "Then the reasons are obvious. You do not really care whether or not the council will grant you your wish. What you simply desire… was to see your family… your real family… again. Isn't that right?"

"I…… I… don't…"

But then a smile soon formed around the boy's lips as he said this. "You know what Setsuna? You and I… are very much alike. More than you actually know. (Huh?) Because I also lie to myself and my students on a daily basis. I keep telling myself that I always wanted to find my father and defeat Fate… but in truth I actually wanted to know who destroyed my village. Who made my life into what it is now. I simply wanted to know the truth about mother… about everything"

"Sensei…"

"But I can understand your feelings too. I know what it feels like to desire to see your family once again. I understand completely. But I have to ask you first Setsuna. What will you do… when you finally meet the?"

The girl froze, unable to answer the question immediately. Her thoughts were tied and tangled together like a mixed up web spun by an unskilled artist. What was she to do? What could she possibly even do? No one knows.

**(The Great Paru Sama) (Engine room)**

"Hmm… ok there. That should do it" said Haruna as she locked the last screw onto the pipeline. Ever since she was able to get the ship out of sight from the enemy, she had been repairing the engine with Satomi nonstop to get it back to shape. The damage done to the engine room was much more severe than all the other rooms. A wild guess would say that the golems had intended to destroy this area so that it would send the entire ship plummeting to the ground. But luckily Anya was able to destroy the golems before they could do some permanent damage to the place.

"How's it going there Paru?" the evil genius of Mahora poked her head in from the control panel. "Is that the last pipeline?"

"Yeah that should be the last one" the young artist gave out a thumbs-up. "With me and my repair crew, we can get this ship back into shape in no time! An't that right crew!" suddenly, seven Chamos wearing technician clothing appeared from the pipe areas with hammers, duck tapes, screw drivers and nails on their hands.

"Yo!"

Satomi simply let out a sweat drop at the sight of this. Though she had to agree that the Chamo repair squad that Haruna drew out from her artifact were useful in getting to those hard to reach areas, she wished that she could make them with a different appearance. Having one Chamo was more than enough than this ship could take.

"Why don't you start the engine?" Paru gestured. "Test if this baby is ready to get back up into the sky again"

The scientist agreed and quickly returned to the control panel. "Ok, I'm rebooting the system" she replied. "Many of the ship's computer circuits were fried during the attack, but the engine doesn't require much. So… here goes" with a press of a button the engine propellers began to spin in a rhythmic tune creating a small gust of air that could be compared to a giant fan. Satomi waited a few seconds before clicking on another switch. "Everything looks green" she announced with a hearty smile. "Alright! We're back in business!"

"Yosh! With this, we can get this ship back in shape in no time!"

"Yeah, but this manual labor stuff really takes a lot out of me" Satomi rubbed her shoulder a bit to feel the sore coming from her bones. "Maybe we should ask the others to help out"

"Maybe Akira and Madoka can help" Haruna recommended. "Times like these, I'd usually ask Maya or Ku Fei with her inhumane strength, but…"

"Yeah… I remember" Satomi cut her off with a loud sigh. "She got mixed up with the nails and nearly broke the whole section of the ship itself" Just when the two of them were having a nice conversation, the door to the room suddenly opened up revealing the chef of the Negimaru gang. "Oh… Hatsuki chan"

"Ohio" the chubby chef greeted. "It's time for lunch now. Everybody's waiting at the dining room. Better hurry before your food gets cold ni…"

"Oh… is it that time already?" Satomi checked her watch and compared it with her body clock. "I guess time does fly when you're working this hard. Alright, I'm coming. Hey Paru, come on"

"Y… yeah… why don't you guys go on ahead?" the girl in the pipe stated waving her wrench just at their view. "I still need to make sure that none of the pipelines are loose. We wouldn't want this ship falling in the middle of the air now, would we?" she flashed them with her usual wide 'I'm ok smile' and waved them off.

"Ok, but you'd better hurry. We're having rice curry today"

"Ahh ahhh! Wait Hatsuki chan" Paru called out suddenly catching the girl's attention. "C… can I ask you something?" the chef of Chao Bao Zi looked at her questioningly. It was unusual for Haruna to stutter and even rarer to see her even to ask a question. But the girl nodded, hinting her to go on and ask. "Do you know what Negi sensei like to eat?"

"Hmm? Negi sensei?" it was an unusual question for her to ask but Hatsuki answered anyway. "Hmm… well. He likes anything that I make and he always seems to try new things whenever he gets the chance. He likes all the meat buns I give him. (Even veggie buns too) But out of all the things, I think he likes English food best since he came from Wales"

"Oh, how about that meal we had back in Naome's place?" Satomi added. "He seemed to like that dish a lot"

"He might. But from what I've seen him eat, he probably likes soft food like noodles or tofu. I've never seen him eat a burger before. Oh!" it was then the chef got a breakthrough. "Sandwiches! Definitely toasted sandwiches I'm sure of it"

"Oh that's right! He usually has a few bottles of jam in his room for snacks. I usually see them half empty or so"

"Why do you want to know Haruna san?"

The manga artist quickly began flipping through her words as tried to conjure a reply. "Ughh… ahh well…… um. Yue chan was wondering if she could make something for him but she was too embarrassed to ask you ahehehe" the two girls below looked unconvinced but decided to leave it for now. A few minutes after they had left the room and out of earshot, Haruna quickly let out a sigh of relief. "Phew…" making sure that no one was around she quickly dismissed her repair Chamo squad and hopped back to the floor. She then locked the bulkhead door which was pretty much the only way into the engine room and made sure that the entire place was soundproof. She took all sorts of precaution and made sure that this entire room was completely impenetrable unless someone knocked on the door first.

Once everything was done, she again let out a soft sigh escape her mouth and turned to the empty room that she had made for herself. A red blush then suddenly began to creep upon her cheek as she pulled out a small notebook from her cloak. She did not want anyone to see or hear what she was about to do especially her closest friends for she knew that her actions would probably cause a big mess of things.

That notebook was something that Haruna despised the most. It was a book so terrible so disgusting that she would like to do nothing better than to burn it in the fiery pits of hell seal the ashes in a box made out of the strongest steel locked with an unbreakable chain and thrown into the deepest ocean never to be seen again by mortal eyes.

But of course… she could not do such a thing… because the book was too precious for her to throw away. What was in it? Well that's a simple answer really. It was a new manga story she was writing. The plot in the story was simple. A princess gets kidnapped by an evil warlord and the king announced that whoever successfully rescues her will wed her and become the heir to the throne of the kingdom. Of course the boy who rescues her was a stable boy, but he was working for another lord and said that he will give his position of being prince to him. But no story is complete without a twist in the plot. On their return trip to the kingdom, the princess slowly begins to fall for the stable boy. However… the stable boy was unable to reciprocate her feelings for he was in love with another girl.

A girl who lived in the same village as he does. The only reason he agreed to save the princess because the lord who sent him there promised him a great sum of gold in which he could use to start a family with the girl of his dream.

As Haruna opened the book once again she couldn't help but let her imagination wander. She of course… was the princess and strangely enough for her, Negi was the stable boy and Nodoka was the farmer girl that he was in love with.

It was a twisted sick story that she couldn't believe that she wrote.

Her mind alone was in turmoil. She was disgusted with herself for even feeling for him. She thought that it was just some minor fling that she got because she was saved from the clutches of the evil vampire. She thought that she would get over it in just a matter of days but instead, that feeling of longing deep inside of her began to grow… steadily but surely. It was as if she was nurturing it unconsciously at the deepest part of her heart.

As she thought about this situation more and more, Negi's face became more and more apparent to her. She began to think of his round face and imagining all the little bits of detail down to the smallest string of hair falling on his face. The girl laid on the metallic floor on her back and held the book closely to her chest. If anyone… caught sight of her feelings just one bit… she feared that she may even hurt her closest friends as well.

"Negi sensei…" the voice came out barely above a whisper. She was now cursing herself for this. The moment she held that book in her chest she knew right away that this was karma… and it bit her at the back of her butt so painfully that it could sting for weeks. As she tried to imagine the boy's face, her blush became redder and redder, like she was burning up with a love fever. Just thinking about him made her legs weak and her heart floating lighter than air itself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the living room. The other members of the Ala Alba and the Ala Rubra were having a nice time enjoying their meals together. Konoka stayed close to her father who seemed to be more wounded that before. The patrol unit that Negi sent out returned to, also gobbling on their plates like wild animals. But along the line, topics and words and jokes were quickly being traded by the group. It was as if the battle two days ago was nothing more but a bad dream.

"Hey… Satomi" Misora waved at the evil genius who was happily slurping her noodles with delight. "Where's Paru? Isn't she supposed to be with you?"

"Hmm?" she finished the noodles in her mouth before replying. "Oh I think she's still in the engine room working the pipes"

"Eh? She's still working?"

"She must really be hard worker nee" Cocone said from the shoulder of her partner. "I guess everyone has their own secret nee"

The nun-mage let out a sigh. "Man… that girl really hasn't been herself lately. I hope she doesn't work too hard and collapse on the last minute. I guess I'll just have to bring her food there" she then grabbed two plates from the table and hurry off to the engine room with Cocone still hanging beside her. Little did she know that she was going to get something a lot harder to swallow than she imagined.

As the girl made her way to the engine room she took a quick pass through Mana's room which pretty much looked like an armory rather than a bedroom. There were weapons hanging on all sides of the room, awards and medals posting all of her achievements and collected bounties giving the room that killer merc feeling and of course a simple table where she could work on her guns and bullets.

"_This girl has got to find herself a new hobby yo"_ Misora thought silently as she peeked into the room. There, she saw Mana herself working on her favorite long barreled pistol which looked strong enough to blast a man into pieces. She was tinkering with the trigger of the pistol and cleaning the inside with a washcloth.

But as an expert mercenary as she was, Mana was able to spot her the moment she poked her eye in. "Is there something wrong?"

"Ah! No nothing at all! Just umm… telling that lunch is ready!" Misora made a bucket of sweat as she noticed that Mana was unconsciously pointing her gun at her.

"Yes… Hatsuki told me that already" the gunslinger replied right before going back to her previous task. "I will join the others soon"

"Hai!" the girl and her mini partner saluted in a comical-worried way and slowly backed away from the gunman. But before they could exit the room, Misora caught sight of the locket that Mana keeps with her, dangling next to the door. From what she remembered from Kazumi's source of information: it was supposedly a locket with a picture of Mana's first love in it. However, the beautiful locket seemed to have been burned, possibly due to the battle two days ago between her and Shiori. Even though it was made out of pure silver, the picture inside would've probably melted by then. "Eh? Wow… what a pretty locket"

Mana's eyes suddenly widened as she turned to her own faulty. She was supposed to keep that locket with her at all times, so with a speed faster than the wind itself, she grabbed the locket from the door before Misora could even lay her shadow on it.

"I believe you were leaving?" she said in a threatening way which pretty much scared the skirt off both nuns.

"H… haii!!!!" and with that, Misora and Cocone were gone, leaving the gunslinger alone to let out a sigh of relief.

Once she made sure that the door behind her was closed, Mana returned to her desk and opened the locket. The previous picture inside had already burned away from the heat of the battle two days ago and only ashes remained in its wake. But then… she knew that she did not need it anymore. The picture of her old love was simply a false hope, a security blanket that kept her safe. But now that barrier had been destroyed, so she had to replace it with another. Replacing the barrier of the dead with the souls of the living…

A picture of Negi… was now her blanket…… and for some bizarre reason that popped into her mind… she knew that with this picture alone, even demons would think thrice before even trying to lay a finger on her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Geeze. These guys really got to learn how to chill" Misora whined out loud as she carried the plates over to the engine room. "Girls nowadays don't know how to relax anymore. It's like they've gone from the class weirdos to heroes. Haaa… I feel so out of place here"

"Maybe we should stick being nuns" Cocone suggested which didn't seem to be a bad idea.

"Yeah… but I get a feeling that a peaceful life isn't meant for us" she sighed. "Somehow I wish that things could go back to the way they were before. Negi sensei's was just teaching a regular class, magic was kept under control and not a single thing to worry about. Haa…… if I knew that we would be staying here long, I would've brought along a few hundred melon buns to eat for snacks and tea time" she let out a comical tear fall off her eyes as she remembered the tasty treats from the school cafeteria.

"You eat too much. I wonder where everything goes"

"Hey, I'm just a growing girl with a growing appetite. Ah, here we are" she reached for the door to the engine room. "Ara? It's locked?" she knocked on the door to see if anyone was in. "Hey, Paru? Are you in there? It's me Misora. I brought ya food" but still there was no reply. "Hmm? She's probably in the pipes fixing the screws again. Oh well I guess I'll have to do this the old fashion way. Cocone, I'll borrow your hairpin for a minute. Now let's see. This is probably a pin tumbler lock so if I do this here and here… yup, this should be easy"

"Isn't it odd to see a nun who knows how to pick a lock?" Cocone looked at her partner with a questioning brow. It was like a priest and a thief put into one bowl.

"Hey don't judge" Misora groaned. And after awhile she was able to crack the lock open. "There we go. Hehehe… I learned how to do this when Shakti sensei locked all the good stuff in her closet nyeh hehehehehe. It's a good thing she doesn't know how to lock stuff with magic nyahahaha"

"You're a twisted delusional version of a nun"

"Oi… Paru chan, are you in here?" Misora called out. "Hmm? Odd. Where could she be?" she looked around the room but could see no trace of the said girl. But then she spotted a lock of the girl's hair dangling down from the ceiling. A wild guess would say that she was fixing the pipes again. "Oh there she is. Hey! Haruna!"

"WHA!?" the girl was blown out of her imagination by the sudden call of her name. But in her sudden squeal, she accidentally dropped her book in the process which literally contained her deepest, darkest sin. "Ah!"

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare ya"

"No! Misora, don't pick up that book!" but it was too late, Misora already had the book in her hand.

"Eh? Why?"

"It's uh… um… my uh… diary! Yeah, my diary!"

"Oh? Oh ok then…" she handed the book back to the girl on the ceiling but in the process, the pages at the center opened up and upon it several photos of a certain young mage boy suddenly poured out. "Ah?! What the!?"

"Eeep!"

"Photos?"

Cocone noted the picture and quickly quirked her eye in suspicion. "They're all photos of Negi sensei"

The thought alone slammed onto the nun's head like a hammer on nail. She had only seen cute pictures of Negi in Ayaka's room since she's probably the Negi addict but to see them in the hands of Haruna was a totally different story. It was obvious as the sun rising from the east. As the girl turned her head back to the manga artist, only a few words could be formed in her mind. "Paru… are you…" that was as far as she was able to get when Haruna drew out magical silencing duck tapes in which to bind the two girls together. "Ehmmmm!!!" before Misora knew it; she was gagged, tapped and strapped along side with Cocone like mummies.

Haruna slammed the door that the nun unlocked and made sure that it was securely fastened with chains so powerful that you'd need an electric cutter just to even get a chance of breaking it.

"So, you've discovered my secret" Paru motioned with her pactio card activated. "I had hoped to keep everyone in the dark about this but now that you've seen it, I have no other choice. I will have to dispose of you!" immediately a bunch of torturing devices appeared from her drawing book. Of course she wasn't seriously going to dispose of Misora or Cocone. This was merely a convincing threat to keep them silent.

"WAIT!!! ARE YOU CRAZY!!" the nun screamed through the bandages trying her best to wiggle out of them as fast as possible. "Can't we talk about this?!"

"Talking is for squealers! I have to silence the witness before she becomes a threat!" without warning, Haruna drew out an executioner with a death mask included. "Sorry Misora, but you and Cocone have to go!"

"I won't tell anyone! I promise!"

"Of course you won't cuz you won't be able to remember anything!" the executioner then picked out something that looked like a headpiece with antennas and a tube or something. "Kee hee hee… this is my brainwashing device that I invented in my book. It'll suck all your memories out like a coconut shake through a straw"

"A brainwashing device!?" Misora screamed. "Is that even possible!?"

"It's never been tested before" Paru grinned. "So the worst case scenario is that you won't even remember your own names"

"WHATT!!!!? You're crazier than Satomi! Someone help!!!"

"Don't bother screaming" Haruna turned from a shy timid girl who had a deep dark secret to an evil villain that was preparing to torture her subjects. "I made this entire room soundproof. (Because the sound of the engine disturbs everyone on board) So no one. Not even Mana would be able to hear you nye hehehehe"

"WHA!!! Have mercy on me!"

"You and I… are going to have a little talk!"


	15. Mwahaha!

Sorry for the late arrival guys. I had to do a little rewrite because I did not find satisfication in bringing more OCs into the story nyah! Mahou Sensei Negima isn't updating quickly either and the story is getting so twisted nyahahahahaha!


End file.
